


Family Gathering

by StarvingLunatic



Series: Pariah [9]
Category: Kim Possible (Cartoon)
Genre: Bisexual Female Character, Christmas, F/F, Family, Family Bonding, Family Fluff, Lesbian Character, Meet the Family, Meeting the Parents, Multi
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2010-12-25
Updated: 2010-12-27
Packaged: 2020-08-11 11:31:28
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 24,379
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20152891
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/StarvingLunatic/pseuds/StarvingLunatic
Summary: Pariah Universe. Set after "Re-education of Jocelyn Possible." The Possibles get together to celebrate Christmas in Middleton with their loved ones. The Possible family seems to grow during this holiday when a few new guests show up. KiGo.





	1. Together

**Author's Note:**

> I don’t own these characters; Disney does. Oh, wait, there’s a cornucopia of OCs in this one. I do own the following: Trin, Shin, and Tatsu. The other OCs will appear in the next chapter. 
> 
> A/N: Hi, this is just a little trip back into the Pariah Universe. There’s no real plot, just a little holiday celebrating. I hope you enjoy.
> 
> Come say hi to me on [Facebook](https://www.facebook.com/SL-Kassidy-482097488469386/).

Family Gathering

1: Together

Peace and serenity filled the apartment Shego and Kim lived in. Shego felt pretty about herself, holding an early Christmas present in her hand and lounging on the comfortable, black leather couch. Emerald eyes focused on the gift as a smile played on her lips. Lightly, she fingered the present as she settled deeper onto the sofa. _I can’t wait to see her face_.

She waited for Kim to come in to spring her gift on the redhead. Waving the gift around, she imagined Kim’s reaction. In her head, the reaction involved loads of hot kisses and clothes tearing. A little action on the floor or sofa suited her just as well. In fact, that might be a good early Christmas present for her, as Kim was not usually for doing bedroom activities outside of the bedroom. She throbbed at the thought of Kim throwing caution to the wind. She could only hope the reality of things was close to what she imagined.

Soon, she would find out how things were going to go because she heard Kim’s keys in the door. Shoving her present into a nearby book, she grabbed a magazine and tried her best to appear nonchalant. When Kim entered the living room, she almost walked by Shego, who did not notice she was “reading” her magazine upside down.

“Hey, Princess,” the older woman said with a bright smile, causing Kim to jump in surprise.

“Shego!” Kim yelped, turning her attention to her girlfriend. “What’re you doing here?” she asked, sounding almost confused.

“I live here last I checked,” Shego remarked, still smiling rather big.

“You know what I mean!” Kim replied, a blush of embarrassment coloring her cheeks just a little. Usually, Shego would be down at Trin’s apartment, hanging out with Tatsu. It was how they stayed busy during the day when everyone else had school or school related things to do.

“Of course I do, but instead of asking silly questions, why don’t you give me a real nice greeting, huh?” Shego proposed, finally sporting a smirk to help things seem normal.

Kim blushed a bit deeper, feeling even more sheepish about how she entered the apartment. She knew she should have been happy to see Shego as soon as she came in their home and she should have expressed that. _How does she put up with you sometimes, Possible_, she mentally admonished herself. She had just been so stunned Shego as in their apartment instead of down the hall, getting on her sister’s nerves in some manner.

Sliding her shoulder bag onto the floor, the college student moved over to Shego and leaned down for a delayed show of affection, kissing Shego soundly. Although it was only a few seconds long, it got an elated moan out of both women. As Kim tried to pull away, Shego grabbed her around the waist and yanked her onto the sofa. Kim yowled for the second time in less than five minutes.

“Shego!” Kim complained as she fell against her lover.

“What? You’re acting like you don’t want to be close to me,” Shego commented as she held Kim to her.

“Of course I want to be close to you, but I just came from outside. I’m going to get your clothes all messed up and you’ll get dirty,” Kim pointed out. She had been out in the elements while Shego was still in house clothes, indicating she had not been out all day. That was not out of the norm for her, especially when she was down at Trin’s place.

“Oh, I’ll get dirty all right.” Shego wiggled her eyebrows.

Kim groaned. “You’re terrible. Come on, I was in the snow, for crying out loud.”

“So you’re a little damp. If I have my way, you’ll be way more moist than this,” the pale woman quipped with a suggestive smirk, pawing at Kim’s thigh in a rather exaggerated manner.

The hero giggled, mostly because Shego was partly tickling her. “You’re incorrigible!” she cried, trying her best to pull away, but the older woman had her in her clutches.

“I know I am and you love me this way. Is it still snowing outside?” Shego asked curiously as she ceased tickling her lover. Kim adjusted her body, so that she rested more comfortably against the former villain.

“Yeah, it’s lighter now than when I left. Did you go out in it?” 

Emerald eyes rolled and there was a loud snort before the verbal reply. “Of course not! I’ve been inside all day on this couch, drinking hot cocoa and curled up in the warmth with my favorite book.”

A light, happy chuckle escaped the redhead. “Somehow, I don’t see it. Now, do you think you could let me up? I’d like to get into some dry clothes and then I promise I’ll come back and badger you with questions, like why you’re here,” she stated.

“Well, that’s a pretty deep question, Kimmie. Why are any of us here?” Shego teased, motioning around them with one hand.

Kim stuck her tongue out at Shego as she stood up. The gesture earned her a light slap on the butt. A yelp escaped her and she turned around to glare at Shego, who grinned at her. She did not say anything and disappeared into the back of the apartment. Shego yawned and went back to her magazine, finally seeing she did not have it turned the right way.

“I wonder if she noticed,” Shego grumbled. She was willing to bet Kim had noticed, but did not say anything about it for whatever reason. It did not matter anyway since she would be showing Kim her gift when the redhead came back into the living room.

Returning the magazine to its place on the coffee table, the green-skinned woman eased back on the sofa and waited for Kim to come back. Her thoughts drifted back to her gift and she eyed the book she hid the present in. A smile curled onto her face as she got lost in the fantasy of how Kim would react to the gift. _This is going to be great!_

The hero returned shortly, climbing right back onto Shego’s lap. She curled into Shego’s body, taking the older woman’s mind from her fantasy and back to reality very quickly. Shego welcomed the weight against her and wrapped her arms around Kim, cuddling against the smaller frame. She rubbed the small of Kim’s back with one hand.

“This feels so nice after coming in from the cold,” Kim muttered, putting her arms around her girlfriend as best she could with the couch in the way.

“I should’ve made you some hot cocoa, too,” Shego realized. She had been too busy thinking about giving out her early present more than anything else, though. 

Kim shook her head. “No, this is fine. I’ve already had more than my fair share of hot chocolate today, anyway.”

Shego made a noise, but decided to just revel in their closeness for a moment. Stroking Kim’s hair, Shego thought about how contented she was with her life for the moment. She had been with Kim for almost a year and a half and without Drakken for just as long. She was without her typical reckless freedom for just as long, too. Yet, she was quite happy with things. A little bored, but she would not wish for a different set up.

“So, what did you do all day?” Kim inquired after a long moment of silence. She rubbed her cheek against Shego, trying to snuggle in even deeper.

“Funny you should ask that,” Shego replied, leaning forward to retrieve her gift. She snatched up the two small, thin pieces of paper. “I planned an early Christmas surprise for you.” She held her bounty up for Kim to see.

A peach-colored forehead wrinkled. “What are these?” the younger woman asked as she took the pair of what appeared to be tickets from Shego.

“Nothing much, just a winter cruise for you and me,” the former thief declared with a proud grin. She then waited to be showered in kisses, but after a few seconds of waiting, the kisses never came. Shego did not understand why she did not get kisses. A winter cruise was romantic as hell. 

“A cruise? For when?” Kim continued to ask questions, sounding a little confused about things as she examined the tickets closely. She could see when they were for, but could not believe it.

“It’s a Christmas cruise,” Shego pointed out, finger on the date printed right on the ticket.

“A Christmas cruise?” Again, Kim sounded baffled, as if she did not understand what she was told.

Shego snorted and laughed. “Yes! Is there an echo in here or is it just my redhead parrot? So, what do you think?” she inquired, resting her head against Kim’s shoulder and smiling brilliantly.

“Um… sweetheart, this is a really great gift…” Kim’s voice said otherwise, though. The way she trailed off did not help.

“I sense a ‘but’ coming and not the good kind either,” Shego said, hand straying down to Kim’s rear, if only to keep herself occupied, so she did not get too upset over why they were probably not going to be using her gift. But, why would Kim not want to go on a cruise? It was not like they were leaving forever and never coming back.

“Shego, sweetheart,” Kim paused and turned to the point where she put her legs around Shego’s waist. Green eyes locked before Kim continued. “I always spend Christmas with my family,” she stated.

“What?” A pale brow furrowed. “You didn’t last year,” Shego pointed out. They had all remained in the apartment building last year and celebrated the holiday in Trin and Shin’s apartment. She recalled Trin had actually outdone herself on the dinner, even though it was not what she expected of a Christmas dinner by blondie. Actually, now that she was thinking about it, it was as if Trin had not expected she would have to cook on Christmas.

“Shego, don’t you remember that huge snow storm last year? We couldn’t leave and even if we could, there was no way we’d be able to make it into Middleton, which had snow way worse than we did,” Kim reminded her lover. The storm last year had been epic. They could not drive out of town and flying was out of the question. So, they had to improvise and had a little Christmas with Trin and Shin. They had not been able to leave the building until two days after Christmas and they did not travel to Middleton until four days after.

The older woman took a moment to recollect more of the holiday than the meal and then she remembered. For that whole week, Kim had been so hyped about going back home and then the night before they were going to leave the snow started. The snow had not stopped long enough for them to escape the city by any means. Her eyes drifted back to the tickets.

“I forgot…” Shego muttered, sounding and looking very disappointed in herself. She could not believe she had forgotten how overjoyed Kim had been last year. It slipped her mind because they had not been able to make the trip and she had been so pleased with herself on snagging those cruise tickets.

“Oh, sweetie, it’s fine,” Kim tried to assure her lover when she saw how down Shego actually looked over what happened.

Shego glanced away for a moment, trying to gather herself, and then stared up at her girlfriend through her eyelashes. “There’s no way I could persuade you to come away with me for seven days is there?” she inquired with an exaggerated pout, hoping it would help, if only a little. She knew the answer, though.

“Baby, I’d love to, but I miss my family. As much as I love being with you, I still want to see them, especially on Christmas. For us, Christmas is a big family holiday and I do really miss them. I know it might not seem like much time to you, but I used to see them everyday and now I only see them weekends or holidays with weeks of time in between,” Kim tried to explain.

Shego did not see her family much at all. Kim was not even sure if Shego talked to her family. She was not sure if she would be able to get Shego to understand the importance of Christmas to the Possibles.

“But, you have the month off, Princess,” Shego pointed out, even though she knew she was going to lose the argument. Still, seven days on a cruise ship was worth the fight, even if it was a halfhearted attempt.

“I could say the same to you.”

“Yeah, but my gift’s already bought and paid for,” Shego stated, forcing out a teasing smile. It did not reach her eyes and she could feel it. She really wanted to lounge around on a big ship with Kim by her side.

The redhead pouted a bit, olive eyes begging for forgiveness. “Sorry, Shego,” she apologized. She could not, would not miss out on another Christmas with her family, even if it was for seven days of high seas antics with Shego.

“Don’t worry about it, Pumpkin,” the older woman said, waving the apology off. “I’ll sell ‘em online and make a profit. Next time, I’ll just plan better.” It was the truth, even if it was like a punch to the gut for her.

“It was a very nice idea,” Kim insisted. Had it been any other time, she would be packing her bags to leave with Shego, but not during Christmas.

“You’d love it more if you got to experience it and then you’d really appreciate it,” Shego remarked, gently stroking her girlfriend’s sides. She wanted to show Kim the world in a way Kim had never seen it before. Not through wild adventures, but through slow, relaxing escapades. They could cruise around, lounge on the ship, and get off at ports to do leisure activities. She felt like Kim would enjoy the change of pace.

“Some other time, baby. I’m looking forward to seeing my parents and even the tweebs. Ron’ll be around, too. We haven’t seen him since the summer,” Kim informed her lover with a soft smile as she thought about everyone who would be at the Possible house. How could she not look forward to family traditions and presents?

“I have to deal with Ron, too?” Shego teased, making sure to groan as if the thought alone pained her greatly.

Kim smiled and then gave Shego a kiss on the end of her nose. “Yes, you have to deal with Ron, too. I think he’s bringing Yori to experience both Hanukkah and Christmas with our families. It’s a big family affair.” Her face lit up at the very idea.

A small smile could not help but play on Shego’s face. Her girlfriend’s enthusiasm had a way of infecting her and she did not mind one bit. “Sounds that way.”

“I want you to experience it, too. This is a Possible family tradition and while you’re with me, you’re a Possible,” Kim declared.

A light laugh escaped Shego. “I don’t get a say in this, do I?” she joked with a smirk. She already knew Kim felt like she was part of the family and she had to say, after a year and a half with Kim, she felt more than welcomed by the Possibles.

“Hey, I just had an idea. Would your family like to join us?” Kim proposed with a sparkle in her eye that let her lover know she thought this was a wonderful idea.

“My family?” Shego’s face scrunched up and made it seem like she did not know what that was. The blank look in her eyes almost seemed to declare she did not have a family, which Kim knew was far from the truth.

Red-orange hair swayed as the hero nodded. “I know it’s short notice, but the more the merrier as far as the Possible clan is concerned. So, would your family like to come or are they busy? I’m sure they have their own Christmas plans.”

An amused smile settled on the pale face. “Not everyone celebrates Christmas, Princess.”

“I know that. But, does yours? I don’t know much about your family, Shego, and we’ve been dating for over a year. Doesn’t that seem odd to you?”

Shego scratched her head a little. “It’s not too weird. I don’t talk about them much, but then again, you’ve met my brothers, so you know why. Is this really that important to you, Kimmie?”

Puppy-like olive eyes were the only answer Shego really required, but the small nod just confirmed the eyes. Shego sighed and rubbed her face for a moment, trying to fix her mouth to say what she needed to say. Pressing Kim closer to her, the words found their way out of her throat.

“I guess I can call my parents and get them to come up. I’m sure they’re not doing anything,” Shego stated.

“Really?” Kim squeaked, grin lighting up the whole room.

“It shouldn’t be too much of a problem. They usually just go trips around this time of year, anyway. So, I’ll call them and tell them to meet us in Middleton. When Christmas Day or eve?”

“Eve. We have both a Christmas Eve dinner and a Christmas dinner, so it’d be best for them to come eve,” Kim explained.

“Consider it done, Princess.”

“Thank you!” Kim then launched herself at Shego, going in mouth first. Somewhere in between the kisses, Shego considered herself screwed… and not in the pleasant way either. She did not want to have to deal with her parents, especially not with a certain blond Possible around. But, it was going to have to be a necessary evil since Kim was so happy. _Guess I’ve got a couple of calls to make_. 

-8-8-8-8-

“What the hell do you mean you might not be going?” Trin demanded, glaring at her male counterpart, looking as if she was trying to grind his bones while they were still in his body. Standing with her arms folded across her chest in their neat and tidy living room, somehow she looked like a patiently waiting, coiled viper. A strike was imminent, but her target either did not notice or care. He was somewhat immune to her venom at that point.

“Just what I said. I might not go home for Christmas this year. I was thinking about spending this year with Booker,” Shin declared with just as much bravado as he had the first time he made the statement. He stood several feet away with his chest puffed out and his chin held high, clearly not recognizing why his plan was beyond idiotic.

“You just want me to slap the hell out of you, don’t you? You can’t just invite yourself to someone’s Christmas holiday, even if you’re his boyfriend,” Trin pointed out, tone implying she thought her best friend was some kind of moron.

Deep brown eyes rolled. “Why not? He said it’s always all right for me to stop by,” he countered, as if that made everything all right.

“Yes, but stopping by and staying are two different things. Beyond that, is it his house for him to give you that sort of permission? No. It belongs to his mother, who I do believe you failed to make a good impression on, as you have a horrible habit of doing. You don’t have the right to ruin that woman’s time with her family,” Trin argued calmly, tone and eyes still calling Shin an idiot way better than the word ever would.

“Since when do you even care?” he inquired, glaring at her as if she was the one responsible for his behavior over the summer.

Trin growled. “Excuse me for showing some concern for you.” He was about to blow a relationship she knew he cared deeply about because he could not get it through his thick head that he could not do whatever the hell he felt like and there would not be consequences for his actions.

“How the hell is this even concern for me? I know what I’m doing is the right thing, so how the hell is it concern for me?” Shin demanded. “You’re just trying to order me around because you’re a control freak.” He pointed at her, as if that would make the insult stick. 

Blue eyes rolled before Trin sighed. For a moment, she took her glasses off and massaged the bridge of her nose. Easing herself down on the sofa, she took several deep breaths to keep her composure. Crossing her legs at the ankle, she put her hands in her lap. Then, with grace and elegance, she turned her attention back to Shin with steel in her gaze.

“This is the way it’s going to be, Shin. You’re coming back to Middleton with us. You’re staying with your parents during the time. You will attend dinner at my house, as we do every year. If this proves to be a problem or too much for you to handle, I’ll simply drug you and you’ll wake up in Middleton,” she explained to him in a rather composed and rational tone, letting him know she meant every word of it.

He glared at her. “You think I’m going to let that happen?” He knew how to fight against her better than anyone, especially when she announced her tactics like that.

“You think you can go without eating or drinking in this house until we leave?” she countered. “Hell, can you go without touching something? Maybe even breathing the air?” She had so many choices at her disposal, she might just poison him for getting on her nerves with this dumb argument.

“What does it matter!” he demanded, stomping his foot like a spoiled brat.

“It matters because you can’t just invite yourself into someone else’s holiday and you can’t just dismiss your own family’s feeling on the matter. Do you think your parents are going to be happy to find out you just invited yourself to someone’s Christmas and forgot about them and their traditions?”

“I want to be with Booker,” he stated plainly.

“Then you should’ve invited him.” It seemed simple enough to her, but knew Shin thought popping up and causing a scene was somehow endearing.

For a moment, Shin was quiet, trying hard to think of a comeback. He came up short. Glancing away, he rubbed his eyes. She noticed his jaw trembling, which she suspected was not an act. Still, she did not care if he was about to cry. He could bawl his eyes out and he was still going to Middleton for Christmas. 

“Why are you making this into such a big deal?” he asked, voice cracking and tears gathering in his eyes.

“Because it’s a big deal on two different ends and because I want to. Now, get this idea out of your head. I’ll tell you right now, I refuse to let you make an ass out of yourself in front of Booker. What do you think he’s going to go through if you show up unannounced during Christmas? His mother already doesn’t like you thanks to your usual shenanigans over the summer. How much and how far are you willing to go before she demands you never see Booker again? Do you really want to make him have to choose between them and you? You’re going to lose no matter what. So, you need to learn how to act before you go anywhere next to that woman again,” Trin announced and she could not believe she was the one giving him this speech. Unfortunately, she was the only one around to give it to him.

There was a long moment of silence, like Shin might actually be considering her words. She hoped it got through to him, but if not, she was looking forward to trying all sorts of new drugs on him. _Why do I have to save him from himself? When is he going to grow up? _She thought being with Booker might have taught Shin something, but she was wrong.

“Look, you shrew, I wanna see Booker,” Shin said, stomping his foot again like an angry child. She was not moved.

“So the hell what? If you were so keen on seeing Booker, you would’ve made a better impression on his mother to be _invited_ to their Christmas. Now, again, I’ll drug you if you make me think it’s necessary,” she insisted. 

“Damn it! You’re such a fucking bitch!” he declared before storming off, slamming the door to his bedroom.

“Fucking baby,” Trin called, not surprised by his attitude. 

She could hardly believe he was acting so stupid, even though it was right in line for him. It was just she thought he would be more empathetic when it came to Booker and Booker’s family. She understood he had deep feelings for Booker and everything, but to just abandon their family and also burst into Bookers’s family during Christmas was a little too much.

“He’s probably acting, just testing the waters to see if that was a good idea,” she concluded. Or, to see how much of a bad idea it was. That was something he would do, after all. Of course, he could not just ask, he had to get on her nerves with it as much as possible, too. All of that seemed more plausible than him being so hardheaded that he did not understand he truly messed up over the summer. 

Trin did not have much time to contemplate why her evil twin was acting like a spoiled brat, well, more so than usual. Tatsu eased her way out into the living room and crawled onto the couch. She was still somewhat wet from her shower, which she just took, but Trin cuddled into her immediately, anyway. Tatsu wrapped her arms around Trin and held her close.

“Shin giving you fits again?” Tatsu asked, mumbling as usual. 

“Of course. He’s being stupid as usual, but I have him under control, as always,” Trin replied. It was headache to keep wrangling him, but someone had to do it.

“What was the problem?”

“I’m not sure if there really was one, but he seemed to be under the impression he was going to be able to skip our family Christmas time together and go be with Booker while ruining Christmas for not just his own parents, but Booker’s mother as well,” the blond explained as if it was no big deal. It was hard to believe she had just been screaming at Shin about this. 

Tatsu’s eyebrows curled up a little. “You’re going to make him go home?”

Trin nodded. “Of course, I am. I can’t allow him to ruin so many holidays at once. Yes, he might enjoy it, but many others won’t and that’s not fair.” 

Tatsu made a strange noise, but did not comment further on that matter. “How long are you gonna be gone for the Christmas thing?”

Trin eyed her lover with an arched eyebrow. “Baby, what do you mean? You’re coming, too.” 

“I am?” Tatsu asked. That was news to her.

“Of course, you are! Baby, this is our first Christmas out to my family. They all know about us. You have to come. You’re a part of the family now, too,” Trin insisted.

Ice blue eyes glanced away. “…Are you sure? I don’t wanna mess up the holiday.” She did not want to be like Shin.

“Baby, you’d never mess up the holiday. My parents and brothers are expecting you. You can’t do this to me, Tatsu. You can’t just abandon me on Christmas,” Trin begged, clinging tightly to her lover. Sapphire eyes widened and glistened, cutting into Tatsu.

“No! I’d never!” Tatsu swore, holding her girlfriend tighter. Placing a gentle kiss to Trin’s pale cheek, she took a deep breath before continuing. “I’d never abandon you. I just…didn’t know I was invited. That’s all.”

“Of course, you’re invited, baby. You’re practically a Possible,” Trin declared.

Tatsu was silent from that. Trin searched her ice blue eyes, trying to determine what was wrong with her partner. Mostly, all she could see was some underlying sorrow, but there seemed to be more to things than that.

“Do you want to visit your mother or your father while we’re there?” Trin proposed, thinking that might be what was wrong with Tatsu. She had not come from anything close to the ideal family situation, so maybe being around the Possible clan or just hearing about them reminded her of what she came from.

“I dunno. Maybe.” Tatsu took a deep breath again. She had not been to her mother’s grave since the last time Trin went with her. She had not seen or spoken to her father in even longer than that. He had her number and could reach out, but did not and she did not. Neither of her parents had been worth much, both negligent and her father was probably verbal abusive at the least. “Trin…” she said, sounding grim and serious.

“Baby, please, tell me what’s wrong. What can I do to help? How can I make you feel better?” Trin tenderly implored, caressing her lover’s stomach.

Tatsu shook her head, her short, damp hair falling in her face because of the movement. A cream-colored hand reached up and brushed the wet hair back. Tatsu smiled a little.

“It’s not something bad. I’m just a little… um… what’s the word?” Tatsu rubbed her forehead, scanning her mind for the word she needed. “Oh, I’m overwhelmed by everything. Sometimes, I just get that way when I think about you. I feel so much then.”

“But, you look sad,” Trin pointed out.

There was a nod. “Partly because I remember what my parents were like compared to yours, but it’s more about feeling bad because I can’t give you all that you give me in return. I can’t give you this family thing you give me.”

“Baby, don’t be silly! You give me so much,” Trin proclaimed, eyes imploring her beloved to believe her.

“Not as much as I want to give you,” Tatsu pointed out and then she sighed, shaking her head. “If you only knew, my love.” She would never be able to give Trin the extended family Trin offered her or the sense of security Trin offered her because of the family or even the stability Trin offered her that she never had until Trin. 

“Tell me,” Trin requested in a breath.

Tatsu took a breath and decided to go simple. “I want to be able to take you to the finest restaurants and pay for everything. I want to be able to buy you a house. I want to be able to take you wherever you want to go and never once have you go into your own wallet. I want to be stable enough to be a family with you,” she explained, her voice low, disbelieving what she was actually confessing.

“Oh, baby. Those are just material things and the last part’s already true. You’re my family. One day, we can have a home together. We can start saving now,” Trin said. 

Tatsu shook her head. “It’s not the same. I feel like we’re unbalanced sometime, like I don’t pull my weight. Like, living here. I can’t find stable work. When I do get a job, I get fired almost right after getting my first paycheck for whatever reasons, so I can’t really pay any bills. This is no way to live. I’m living off of you and I don’t want that,” she explained.

Tatsu had already been through three jobs and she was unemployed at the moment. It was hard to work for someone after she had once had her own successful business. Yes, it was an illegal business, but she earned with it. She felt like she could not offer Trin anything and it was like she was a leech, even though she knew her lover did not feel that way about things.

The blond nodded. “I understand what you mean, baby. I truly do. How’s about this, we start a joint bank account and I’ll only put in whenever you do and only the same amount. I have faith you’ll find steady work and make more money, but until then, we can go small.”

“That sounds good,” Tatsu agreed with a nod. “Do you think I should’ve kept working on the race cars?” She had given up working on illegal race cars because she felt like she had a lot to lose if she got caught breaking the law. She wanted to be responsible for Trin and for their relationship.

“You know I was behind your decision, no matter what it was. I respect that you walked away from it, though,” Trin answered. Honestly, it made no difference to her what Tatsu did for a living as she loved the woman, not the job, but when Tatsu explained why she felt she had to stop doing something illegal, it had touched Trin. Secretly, the blond felt the same and knew she had to be careful with her own activities. So, there was to be no more “borrowing” satellites or hacking computers when she was bored.

“Can’t hold you if I’m in jail, or trying to pay off thousands of dollars in fines,” Tatsu quipped, smiling a little.

“Oh, that is a bad thing since you know how much I love these arms around me,” Trin commented, caressing Tatsu’s tight biceps. “But, I’d also move heaven and Earth to keep you out of jail if you decided to go back to working on the race cars.”

Tatsu laughed a bit. “I know you would, but I don’t want to cause you that kind of trouble. Would you believe when I think about the future with you I actually think ‘white picket fence’ and stuff like that?” Stuff like that had never entered her mind until she started dating Trin and even then, she had to get to know the blond better for such things to invade her mind. Before Trin, Tatsu lived hour to hour, not even planning for the next day. Life drifted by her, but now she had plans and she enjoyed that.

“I can believe it. I often think the same. I don’t need excitement in my life, baby. I like a slow pace and if you want to live in the suburbs and have a dog and things of that nature, I’m all for it.” One day, they might even have a child or two, but Trin did not voice that. She did not want to ruin Tatsu’s fantasy if Tatsu did not want children.

Tatsu smiled a little more and leaned her forehead against Trin’s. “What’re the odds of that happening?” she asked in a low voice.

“While Shin lives and breaths? Slim to none, but it’s nice to dream.” 

An amused smile lit up Tatsu’s face, showing she agreed. The couple remained snuggled on the sofa for quite some time. Trin was pleased to know she had gotten Shin settled enough where he did not bother her and she had also connected with Tatsu. For a while, she had feared she and Tatsu might have reached their end, especially over the summer. But, they talked things out and were stronger than ever now, especially since they both began opening up to each other. 

Trin thought it helped that Tatsu now lived with her. Once it had been established they were living together, they had hit a few bumps in the road, but nothing too tough. They were able to endure and overcome little differences and big annoyances, like Shin, who had made it his business to show he disliked the idea of Tatsu moving in. He was somewhat over it now, but every now and then his feelings toward the matter came out. Their biggest problem currently was Tatsu’s employment record, which only bothered Trin because it bothered the mechanic.

“Baby, I promise, this Christmas is going to be great,” Trin stated, placing a small, delicate kiss to her lover’s lips.

“I’m looking forward to it then,” Tatsu replied, some trepidation in her voice. While she had no doubt the holiday itself would be fine and the Possible family would get along get, she hoped she was not so awkward to ruin everything. She had never had a proper Christmas with a family before.

“And you don’t have to be nervous. You’ve been around my family before.” 

“Not for Christmas.” It seemed like a big deal.

“I know, but think of it as Thanksgiving all over again. You had a good time then, right? And it was a first.” 

“Still, it wasn’t Christmas.” Thanksgiving, all she had to worry about was not eating too much and remembering whatever table manners she had picked up in life. Christmas was different. 

Trin smiled and kissed Tatsu on the lips. “It’ll be fine,” she promised. The adoring look in Tatsu’s face let Trin know her beloved believed her.

-8-8-8-8-

“Hey, sis, can I ask you a personal question?” Kim asked as she and Trin left school from their final day of tests. They were in the school parking lot, walking to Trin’s car.

“You know you can ask me anything, Mini-me,” Trin replied.

“For Christmas, are you going to do anything special for Tatsu?”

Trin arched an eyebrow, knowing her little sister liked speaking in euphemisms when it came to certain relationship matters. “By special you mean boxed gift or bedroom gift?” she asked as they climbed into the car.

“Both.” 

“Bedroom special seems to be a before and after the trip. I’m a little uncomfortable with doing such things with Mom and Dad right now the hall,” Trin explained. The thought made her stomach turn with anxiety.

Kim nodded as they pulled out of the parking lot. “It does seem a little weird. What if Shego wants to?” 

“I’m sure if you tell Shego you’re uncomfortable with the idea of doing anything in our parents’ house, she’ll understand. She might tease you a bit, but you don’t like the idea, tell her.” Trin would never say it aloud, but Shego was very reasonable when it came to her little sister.

“Okay. And what about boxed gift?” 

“Well, my relationship with Tatsu is just a little different from yours with Shego. Shego lets you direct the relationship while I try to let Tatsu do it. So, I don’t want to do anything too big to make her uncomfortable,” Trin replied. 

“You let her make the grand gestures?”

“Well, it’s that or I make my grand gestures seem subtle. Do you want to make a grand gesture toward Shego?”

“I’m not sure. I want her to know I appreciate her and everything she gave up for me. I know she sacrificed a lot and I want her to know I still recognize that after being together for a year and a half,” Kim informed her sister. 

“Do you want ideas on what you should do for her?” Trin inquired.

“It’d be a great help.” 

“Well, all women love jewelry,” the blond commented with a smile.

“Even Tatsu?” the hero teased. 

“Hmmm… we might have to find out. I’ve yet to buy my baby any sort of jewelry. It could be fun, so I shall give it a try. I just have to be careful. I feel like if I buy her a ring at this point, she’ll run screaming into the dark.”

“Why do you think that?” 

Trin shrugged a little. “I think this whole change for her, not just scenery, but jobs and everything, has her skittish. She’s seemed rather anxious lately and she told me that she doesn’t feel like she pulls her weight. I don’t want to shake her too much.”

The younger sister nodded. “That makes sense. I feel like I need to do something big because Shego seems little anxious, too. I think she needs to get away a little bit. She actually bought tickets to a cruise for Christmas. I felt bad for having to turn her down.”

“Well, there you go. Maybe you should buy tickets for a cruise you both could go on. Maybe for Valentine’s Day…well, a late Valentine’s Day as it would have to be spring break.” 

Nodding enthusiastically, Kim grinned. “That’s a good idea. I’ll have to do that. I’m going to do a few other things for Shego, too. I don’t want her to get bored with me.”

Trin cast her sister a curious glance. “Bored with you?” she echoed incredulously. Sometimes, she thought Kim forgot she was Kim Possible.

Kim snickered and held her hands up. “Well, I know a lot of the time Shego’s happy with lounging around, but being with me is a complete changing of gears for her. Even when she wasn’t being Drakken’s lackey, she was off on exotic vacations and stuff like that. Now, she just lounges on your couch and harasses you or your girlfriend.”

“And loves you,” Trin added in.

“Yeah, there’s that. But, love can only last as long as both parties are happy with their circumstances,” Kim pointed out. 

A proud smile graced the elder sibling’s face. “You are wise beyond your years, Mini-me. I think you’ll handle this Christmas just fine.”

“I hope so,” Kim stated.

Trin waved her little sister off, certain Kim had things well under control. She just hoped Kim’s worry of Shego getting bored was inaccurate. Unfortunately, she could tell what Kim meant. One of the things Kim and Shego had in common was the fact that they both liked to keep active. Kim, of course, was much more extreme in that, but Shego had her moments. There was only so much lounging around the house Shego would be able to take.

-8-8-8-8-

“Do you have everything packed?” Kim asked Shego as she leaned on their bedroom door. She was pretty much ready to leave with the clothes on her back because she had her essentials at her parents’ house. She had had the forethought to have all of her gifts shipped to her parents’ house, too, so she did not have to worry about carrying them.

“Yes, you know I do considering the fact that you packed most of it last night,” Shego replied, coming out of their bedroom with a duffle bag on her shoulder.

“I was bored!”

“You were antsy,” the older woman corrected her lover.

Kim laughed, but refused to admit that was the reason. Shego let it go in favor of checking her bag for the fifth time. Honestly, she could not believe she was going through with this when she could have been on a luxury cruise liner sipping drinks out of a coconut while getting a massage. _I’ve gotta be in love, or crazy_. Of course, life had taught her the two were one and the same.

“Are your parents and brothers going to show up?” Kim asked as they exited the apartment.

“I couldn’t find any of my brothers, but according to my father, he and my mother are on opposite ends of the globe,” Shego answered.

Kim’s brow wrinkled. “You make it sound like they’re apart.”

“They are. My mother’s taking in the sun down in Sydney and my father’s mountain climbing in the Swiss Alps. And, considering their complexions, they probably should’ve switched. My mother’s probably going to burn to a crisp.” Shego shook her head.

“Your parents vacation separately?” Kim inquired with a scrunched up expression. She wondered if that was something Shego would end up wanting to do. She did not like that idea.

“No, they don’t vacation separately.”

“Then I don’t understand.”

“It’s complicated,” Shego said and it was clearly a cop-out answer. She was not sure Kim would understand how her family worked, and it did work, even if it came across as very unconventional. 

Kim was tempted to push the issue, but they arrived at Trin and Shin’s apartment. The door was unlocked, as they were expected and no one wanted to worry about having to fix the lock if Shego decided to pick it instead of ringing the doorbell or letting Kim use her key. Inside, they found Tatsu on the couch, clutching a book bag as if it were a protective teddy bear. They sat down across from her in one of the armchairs. 

“Where are the evil twins?” Shego asked and then a loud crashing noise was heard from Shin’s room. “Never mind.”

“Tatsu, are you all right? You look a little sick,” Kim noted. 

“Fine,” the mechanic mumbled before burying her face in her bag to have an excuse not to talk anymore. She looked a little green.

“You don’t look fine. You want to talk about?” Kim asked in a kind and concerned voice. 

Tatsu shook her head. Shego studied her for a moment before she came up with something. “She probably already talked about it with blondie, Princess. Whatever’s wrong with her has probably been talked to death,” the older woman remarked.

“Fuck you,” Tatsu grumbled, snarling at Shego. The former thief only grinned.

The trio was not able start any sort of conversation before Shin’s screaming drowned out most sound. They were rather certain they could hear the distinct sound of steel against steel. It would not surprise them if Trin and Shin were seriously fighting in the room. They found out that was the case only seconds later when Shin fell out of the room, stumbled to the floor, and a duffel bag landed on top of his chest. Trin then stepped out, her hair a mess, and her katana in her hand. 

“Next time I tell you to fucking move, you do it,” the blond spoke down to her fallen friend. She then stepped over Shin, almost as if he was not even there. Turning to the trio, she brushed her hair back. “Please, ladies, give me a few minutes and I’ll be ready to go,” she informed them before walking off to her bedroom.

“Shin, you still alive?” Shego called with a laugh. 

“Shut up,” Shin growled, picking him up only to fling himself onto the closest armchair. His face was flushed, covered in sweat, and his hair was stuck to his forehead. 

“That poor door,” Kim said, shaking her head. Tatsu had been kind enough to fix Shin’s bedroom door over the summer when Kim had broken it while dealing with Joss. Tatsu had also been kind enough to fix the hole Trin had punched into the wall at the time.

“Why is that pink puff manhandling you on this holiest of holy days before Christmas?” Shego inquired, amusement gleaming in her eyes. 

“Fucking shrew!” Shin snarled, shaking his fist in Trin’s direction.

“He tried to escape,” Tatsu supplied as to why Shin got what he deserved. 

“What for? Didn’t Trin already beat it into your hard head you’re going? You know once she tells you something, that’s it,” Kim reminded the fuming young man. A lifetime with Trin should have taught him that.

“It’s not fair! You guys all get to be with your lovers on Christmas! I wanna be with mine!” Shin whined loudly. 

“You weren’t invited! Stop trying to ruin people’s family time with your selfishness!” Trin barked from inside her room. She could not believe they were still having this argument. Before she thought he was just testing her, but now it was clear he was out of his mind.

“She’s right, you know, Shin. It’d be awful for you to go there and Booker’s mother doesn’t want you there. You were supposed to make a good first impression this summer. Why didn’t you just do that?” Kim asked in a curious tone. Shin had really screwed himself up over the summer by failing to turn himself down a notch when meeting his boyfriend’s mother.

“I tried!” Shin insisted.

“You obviously didn’t try hard enough and do you really think you’ll win any points by showing up on Christmas uninvited?” Kim inquired incredulously.

“You must really be some kind of moron,” Shego added in.

“I wanted to make up for things,” Shin grumbled, frowning deeply. Honestly, he wanted to go to Booker and show he could behave himself and he could be the perfect gentleman. He was just so overwhelmed in the summer that he had accidentally let it show. He was sure that if he could just go, he could make everything right.

“Right now, until you can work things out with Booker on how you should act with his mother, I don’t think you should drop in unannounced for any holiday gatherings. Think of it this way, Trin’s saving you from yourself because you’re not thinking clearly,” Kim explained. 

“Or at all,” Tatsu muttered.

“Seconded,” Shego concurred.

Shin pouted, upset that all four ladies were against him. Damn it, usually at least Shego was on his side! He did not say anything in his defense, but as the quiet settled in and he thought on things, he considered they might have a point.

He thought he would be able to go see Booker and make everything all right, but then again, over the summer he had assumed he could be on his best behavior. Now, he had not been his usual over-the-top self, but he had still been enough for Booker’s mother to request Booker not bring him around anymore. Just knowing Booker’s mother said that hurt and he really wanted to set things straight.

It probably would not be a good idea to start making amends by coming around Booker’s mother when she did not even invite him, though. Shin liked to believe he could have made things right somehow, though. But, then again, he realized he did not even have a plan to make things right. It was as if he thought just showing up would magically make things good. _Okay, I need to make a plan with Booker on how to set things right_. He would do that when he called Booker to wish him a Merry Christmas. 

“All right. I am ready,” Trin announced as she reentered the room, her hair fresh and her face perfect. Nothing was out of her place with her pink slacks and yellow shirt. It would be hard to believe she had just had a sword fight.

“Everybody got everything?” Kim asked as she stood. The others followed. They were all ready to go. “Let’s go!” she grinned.

-8-8-8-8-

Next time: the group arrives in Middleton and parents follow right behind them.


	2. Home for the Holidays

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I don’t own these characters; Disney does. Oh, wait, there’s a cornucopia of OCs in this one. I do own the following: Trin, Shin, Tatsu, Isabel, Kane, Shinichiro, and Tashawna.

2: Home for the Holidays 

The group arrived in Middleton a few hours after they left their homes, pulling up to the Possible household in two vehicles. Trin, Tatsu, and Shin climbed out of their car and Kim and Shego had taken Shego’s car. The cold winter air rushed them, slicing through their coats, but the bright, colorful lights caught their attention enough to give them pause. All eyes stared at the house for a moment, taking in the sight of the Christmas lights and decorations. For some reason, just seeing that made Kim put her arms around Shego. Tatsu clutched on Trin’s hand and the blond gave the hand a gentle squeeze. 

“Welcome home, huh?” Shego whispered into Kim’s ear.

The redhead nodded a little. “Home is where you are, sweetheart,” she replied. She wanted Shego to get into the Possible holiday spirit, if not this holiday, then eventually. She wanted Shego to know they were in this together forever.

Shin wanted to roll his eyes, but found he could not. Watching the two couples, he could not even manage saying something smart. All he could do was wish Booker was there with him. For the first time, he wondered why he had not invited Booker to be with him instead of coming up with the crazy scheme of invading Booker’s family celebration. _One, you’re not thinking straight, and two, you’re almost never thinking straight and it never mattered before_. Shaking the thoughts away, Shin was the one that walked up to the front door. The very excited Doctors Possible as well as the “tweebs” greeted the group at the door.

“We’ve been waiting for you! We thought you’d be here much earlier,” Anne said as she waved them into the living room. The group wasted no time marching inside and she closed the door behind them.

The Christmas spirit practically beckoned them in. It smelled like Christmas in the house. The pine of tree wafted throughout the rooms. There was a scent of food lingering, but hard to pin down exactly what kind. There was definitely something sweet hanging in the air. The lights from the outside flashed enough to notice them inside, but there were also colored lights inside, on the tree, on the stairs, and at the windows.

There were hugs all around. Shego expected it, having had to put up with it at Thanksgiving. Just because she expected it, though, did not mean she had to like it. She just made sure not to express her displeasure because she did not want to cause trouble for Kim. Besides, it was not like she was not used to hugs and it was not so much that she disliked hugs. She just liked complaining. 

Tatsu was completely different. Even though she had been hugged at Thanksgiving, she was not expecting it that time around for whatever reason. Hugging anyone aside from Trin made her uncomfortable and nervous, which was easy to tell. Her body went rigid and tense whenever someone put their arms around her, but that did not stop the Possible family. They wanted her to get used to the affection, especially since they were all certain she was there to stay. They respected her enough to make sure the embraces lasted less than five seconds, though. 

“What took you guys so long?” Jim asked once all of the embracing was over and done with.

“Yeah, it’s not like it was snowing or anything this time around,” Tim added.

“We had a little problem, but it sorted itself out,” Trin replied, glancing at Shin, who she noticed was no longer sulking. A small smile actually invaded her face for a very brief moment.

“Wonderful. It’s always good when you all avoid trouble. Now, if anyone has gifts they would like to put under the tree, I’d be happy to help,” James informed them, squaring his shoulders for whatever reason. He then focused his attention on Shin. “Shin, your parents called and said they’d likely be here before dinner tonight. They said it would be all right for you to go into the house, but they’d prefer if you waited here.”

“If there’s cookies, I am so here,” Shin declared with a grin, willing himself to get into the holiday spirit. He told himself things were better this way and for once Trin was actually right. He needed time to think of a better way to make things up to Booker and his mother. He more hated to admit the shrew was right than anything else, even if it was just to himself. 

“Cookies are piled high in the kitchen, just for you like they are every Christmas,” Anne replied with a smile, patting him on his broad shoulder.

He grinned and turned, hugging the neurosurgeon tightly. “I am so there!” He smacked his lips loudly, already tasting his aunt’s cookies. That would make up for Trin kicking his butt earlier. 

Shin released Anne and then he dropped his bag, which was full of gifts for everyone as he did not have the foresight to ship anything, and rushed off. James laughed and picked up the bag for the boy. He went over to the tree to put Shin’s presents there. Trin watched her father carefully for a moment before turning her attention to Anne.

“I’m going to take Tatsu up to my room to put her stuff down,” Trin said, speaking to her mother, who smiled and nodded. Trin gently pulled her lover away while her father was still distracted.

Anne turned her attention directly to Kim and Shego. “Shego, Kim called before and said your parents might come. Is that still true?”

Shego shrugged. “Honestly, I don’t have a freaking clue. I told them about the gathering and told them Kim invited them and you wouldn’t mind if they showed up. I even told them to meet me here, but who knows with them,” she answered. It was hard to explain her parents, especially to people who did not know them.

“Well, we’ll be sure to keep an eye out for them. I assume you’ll be staying in Kim’s room?” Anne inquired, glancing over at her husband. James was still busy around the tree, organizing the overflow of presents Shin had in his bag.

A nervous laugh escaped the younger redhead. “Um… I figured it’d be all right with you and Dad,” she said. She was not sure if it was, though. She had not asked, not sure how to approach the topic. It was embarrassing. She wished she could do like Trin and just walk off with her girlfriend, showing how things were going to be.

Blue eyes glanced over by the Christmas tree again before turning back to Kim. “It’s fine,” she stated.

“Thanks, Mom,” Kim grinned, pulling her mother in for an elated, tight embrace.

Anne laughed a little from her daughter’s enthusiasm and continued to laugh when Kim released her. Kim checked to make sure her father was still preoccupied and he was, so she needed to make a move before he noticed. The hero turned attention to her partner, grinning still and bouncing on her heels. Shego was ready to declare her lover adorable, but Kim took her hand and they were off.

Kim led Shego away, yanking her toward her room. Anne watched them go and kept an eye on her husband in case she needed to distract him. She knew he would not be very open to the idea of their daughters sharing their room with their girlfriends, even if they had been in relationships for years. It did not matter to James if they had been in relationships for centuries. They were still his little girls and always would be. Anne thought it was a little cute, but she knew it was annoying for their daughters.

“Where are the girls?” James asked as he looked up to see the living room clear.

“They’re getting Shego and Tatsu settled in,” Anne replied, folding her arms across her stomach.

“Okay, we should make sure Tatsu’s in the guest room by us,” James pointed out.

A small smile slipped onto the redhead’s face. “Sorry, hon, but Tatsu’s staying with Trin.”

“What!” James jumped and actually nearly hit the ceiling. Anne expected as such and did not react to the amazing feat.

“Hon, don’t start,” Anne said, walking over to him and taking him into a light hug. She kissed his cheek. “Trin and Tatsu are practically married. We’ve even been hinting to her to propose to Trin for a couple of months now. So, you should just calm down.”

Taking a deep breath, James glanced at the stairs. “Okay, you’re right about that. But, what about Shego? Surely you want to put her in a guest room. Kimmie isn’t old enough to share her room with her girlfriend!”

Anne’s brow furrowed. “Honey, Kim is nineteen years old and she shares a room with her girlfriend most of the time. We’ve been to their apartment, so you know that.”

James sighed. “It’s so much easier to ignore when they’re a hundred miles away,” he pointed out. 

“I know, I know. It’s hard to believe, but our little girls are growing up. Think about it, if we have our way, Trin would be married within the year, if we could only get Tatsu to listen. Kim’s been dating Shego for a year and living with her for just as long. Trin’s about to have a full-time career along with her masters and a PhD eventually. I’m sorry to say, but Trin’s an adult already and Kim will be there soon enough. You have to let go,” she whispered to him.

James groaned and hit her with an adorable pout. “I don’t want to. I want them to stay my little girls forever. I want to wake up to oatmeal and sitting in the kitchen with my newspaper and little Trin sitting next to me with her comics section. I want Kim playing on the kitchen floor with her blocks and the twins trying to walk over to the back door.”

Anne smiled softly. “Unfortunately, time marches forward. You know that, Mister Rocket Scientist. But, if you’re really nice, think about how in a few years, one of the kids might have kids of their own. Then, we get to start over as grandparents,” she stated in a happy tone.

“Grandparents?” he echoed and pulled back a little to stare into Anne’s blue eyes. He noticed a twinkle there and smiled. “As long as they’re blond grandkids. She’s the only one old enough to start a family so soon.”

Anne chuckled and nodded. James continued to smile. The thought of having a grandchild in a few years did not frighten him as much as he thought it would. He wondered if such a thing really was in the cards.

“We have to get Tatsu to propose, first of all,” James declared.

“I just hope that’ll be easier than getting her to relax when we hug her,” Anne remarked, earning a laugh from her husband.

“I hate to say it, but at least Shego isn’t that bad,” the scientist commented and that got a bigger laugh out of Anne.

-8-8-8-8-

“I can’t believe your mother’s letting us a share a room. When we came here for Thanksgiving, I thought your father was going to beat me with a bat to keep me out of here,” Shego remarked as she dropped her bag in Kim’s room.

Kim chuckled. “He probably would’ve pitched a fit today, too, but he wasn’t paying attention. With Mom giving us permission, it might help him ease into the idea that I’m an adult now. An adult in an adult relationship who shares a space with her adult girlfriend.”

Shego smiled, but did not say anything to that. Honestly, she was not sure what to say to it. She never had to deal with such a thing.

The former villain thought back to when they had come to Middleton for Thanksgiving just a month ago. James had been friendly with her, as he always was, up until she tried to go to sleep in Kim’s room for the night. She did not understand why he suddenly got so belligerent, almost screaming at her and threatening her with something about rockets, orbits around the sun, and black holes. It had irked her to the point where she almost flared her hands to him, but something inside of her kept her from doing such a thing. Instead of fighting, she had glared at him while marching off to the room that he wanted her to go through. She did not understand why she did it, beyond the fact that she did not want to cause any problems for Kim… and she wanted the Possible family to like her.

“You don’t think he’ll force me to go to the guest room, do you?” the older woman asked with a twisted expression. Once upon a time, she would have blown James off, not caring for his opinion, but since he was Kim’s father, things were different. She found herself obeying him as if she were one of his daughters. She could not imagine what her parents would think if they witnessed her with the Possibles. _Hopefully, they won’t show up_.

“I doubt he’d do that, especially after we got the nod from Mom. Everything should be fine,” Kim assured her lover, reaching out and taking Shego’s hand. She smiled, thinking about the approval from her mother. It was not just approval of her girlfriend, but acknowledgment that she was growing up.

“Okay.” A wicked smile spread across a pale face as she yanked Kim toward her. Powerful arms pressed Kim against Shego’s supple form. “Would they enter without knocking since we’re up here together?” she inquired in a naughty whisper that sent a shiver down Kim’s spine.

It took Kim a moment, but then she remembered where they were. Pulling away slightly, she glared at her lover and shook a finger in Shego’s face like a mother scolding a child. “No, but my brothers would and that would be even worse. There’s more than that, though, so don’t even think about it, missy! This is my parents’ house, my childhood bedroom, and my childhood bed!” Kim motioned to the aforementioned piece of furniture.

“Such a spoilsport,” Shego pouted, releasing Kim in favor of folding her arms across her chest and cocking her hip out. “You take all the fun out of everything,” she grumbled, making sure to look as unhappy as humanly possible. It did not seem to be getting her anywhere, though.

“No, you try to interject fun in places it doesn’t belong. Please, baby, I don’t want anything to wreck Christmas for my family and I want my dad to see how stable we are, so he won’t have such a big deal with us sharing a room the next time we come here and he’ll hopefully see me as an adult,” Kim implored, taking Shego’s hand again, wanting to share her emotions through contact.

A free hand went through lush, ebony hair and Shego sighed. Out of nowhere, she grabbed Kim into a tight embrace. She held Kim around the waist and pressed her body into the slender redhead. The hero was surprised for a moment, standing still with wide eyes. Once she realized Shego was holding her and nothing beyond that, she returned the hug. For a moment, they were silent with the older woman caressing the small of Kim’s back and earning a light moan from the redhead.

Shego was the one that broke the silent, speaking in a low, but powerful tone. “Princess, I promise you, I’ll do my best to make this a wonderful Christmas for you and your family. I also promise to keep trying to win over your father. I just don’t know if it’ll ever happen,” she said. She would do just about anything to keep Kim because she knew what it was like to be without Kim. The feeling did not sit well with her, so it was not an option.

“Sorry for this baggage, Shego. I just want to try to adjust my dad to the idea we’re dating. I admit, he might never see me beyond a seven-year-old girl, but I want him to get used to the idea of my being in a relationship.”

There was a soft kiss to the side of the redhead’s head. “I get it, Princess. I really do. My family isn’t perfect either and you know that just from meeting my idiot brothers. One day you’re going to meet my parents and see they’re weirdos just like your dad. We almost all come with families and no one’s from the perfect family. I’m not going anywhere, you know that.”

Kim nodded, even though she was not sure how much she believed that. Even though Shego might be able to handle her father, Kim was not sure if Shego would be able to survive the ennui of their lives. Beyond the crazy adventure here and there, all Shego did was lounge on a couch while Kim attended classes with Trin and Shin. Even Tatsu had a job, on and off anyway. Shego was the only one who had nothing to do almost all of the time. Kim was not sure how long Shego would be able to take that and she was not sure what Shego might do once the tedium finally got to the former thief.

_I won’t let her get away_, Kim silently vowed. She was not completely sure what she could do beyond making sure to take Shego out to things she liked every so often, but she had confidence she would figure it out. She was Kim Possible, after all. 

-8-8-8-8-

Trin opened up Tatsu’s bag and went to work putting her lover’s clothes away. They would not be at the house long, a week, but she wanted Tatsu to be comfortable. She wanted Tatsu to start thinking of the house as a home-away-from-home, like she did. Tatsu was busy, sitting on the bed, fingers fidgeting.

“Baby, I wish you’d calm down. We’ve been here before and you know it’s nothing to be worried about,” Trin said, turning to her lover with sympathetic blue eyes. The look and words did not stop her beloved from being so jittery.

“What if I do something stupid in front of your parents?” Tatsu inquired with a troubled look on her face. It was always a concern of hers. She wanted to be liked by Trin’s family and she was always worried she might do something that made the doctors Possible hate her. To her, it was always more likely she would mess something up than make things right.

Tropical blue eyes softened and Trin went to her girlfriend. She sat down on Tatsu’s lap, getting a smile out of the mechanic. Slim arms went around Tatsu’s neck and a gentle kiss was placed on her lips. Tatsu smiled a bit, always pleased to get a kiss, no matter the circumstances. Her hands went to Trin’s hips to make sure she was secure, which earned her yet another kiss. They were quiet for a moment, enjoying their closeness. Trin caressed Tatsu’s cheek and Tatsu kissed her palm.

“Baby, you’re not on an interview around here or with my family. They like you. They also respect the fact that I love you. Baby, please, I want you to think of them as your family. I want you to be comfortable with us. I want you to feel like if you needed to, you could come here without me. You could depend on my parents as I do.” Her parents were those types and she wanted Tatsu to at least understand the benefits of having such kindness in her life.

Tatsu inhaled sharply and tightened her arms around Trin as if she was afraid. Honestly, she knew the Possibles were extremely kind people. She knew if she needed a shoulder and Trin was not around, she could turn to them. She had learned that from being around Kim, but she had been around the doctors Possible enough to know she could count on them. That was what made her so nervous!

Tatsu was completely out of her element with the Possibles. Until she met them, she did not know such a stable, loving family could exist. Honestly, she would love to embrace them, but she did not know how. She did not know where to begin. All she could think about was how she could screw up her life totally if she slipped up just once in front of them, if she offended them in any small way.

“Trin… I don’t… I don’t know how to handle family,” Tatsu admitted in a small voice. She had never had something like that in her life. The closest she had to family before Trin was her father and there were times she did not even think he liked her. He told her often enough how he never wanted her.

The blond smiled softly and placed a tender kiss to Tatsu’s lips again. “Baby, I know your family situation. I understand that this is hard for you, but I want you to know it doesn’t have to be hard.”

The mechanic nodded, even though that did not soothe her anxiety. “My mother… she didn’t… you know… she didn’t see me and my father thinks I’m stupid…” She made vague hand gestures, as if that helped where her words faltered.

“Love, I know what happened.” Trin ran her fingers through Tatsu’s hair. “My parents aren’t like that. My family isn’t like that. They see you. Hell, they feel you. You know that. They hug you and talk to you whenever they can. My brothers think the world of you. I know you know that.”

Tatsu swallowed hard. “…I can… I can feel it… But, it makes me nervous. It makes my stomach flip,” she confessed, moving Trin’s hand to her belly. It made her understand why it was called having butterflies. It felt like she had a million butterflies fluttering in her stomach and chest.

“Do you like my family?”

“I do,” Tatsu admitted in a low voice. She adored the Possibles really. She did not know what to do with that, except for try her best not to screw up. To avoid screwing up, she withdrew.

“And do you think they like you?”

“I do,” Tatsu answered strongly. She could tell that they liked her, which brought her back to her trying her best not screw up.

“Then explain to me why we’re going through this?”

“Uh… I… I don’t wanna do something dumb. I don’t want them to stop liking me. I don’t want you to stop liking me.”

Trin smiled. “Baby, you’re so good at this talking thing now. You’re opening up to me so well. Do you think you could try to slowly open up to my family? They know people make mistakes if you do something silly. They’re not perfect. They make mistakes and do silly things, just like I do. I know you’re not going to do anything dumb because you’re a very intelligent person, both mentally and socially if you give it a try. So, will you try?”

“To be open and social with your family?” Tatsu asked.

“Yes, please. Just give it a chance, love. We both know if we give something time to become comfortable, we’re both capable of adapting,” the blond pointed out. It was something they learned together.

Tatsu nodded because that was more than true. They had adapted to each other to give their relationship a chance. They had adapted to a long distance relationship when Trin had to go back to school. They had adapted to changes in their lives that left them in doubt of making it as a couple. They had adapted to living together. They would keep adapting, they both silently vowed.

“I’m gonna try, but I don’t know if I can stop being nervous…” Tatsu admitted, palms feeling sweaty at the thought of being social with the Possibles.

A devilish smile curled onto Trin’s face. “Well then, how about I relax you?” she suggested, but did not give Tatsu a chance to answer. The blond attacked her lover with a deep, powerful kiss. Tatsu surrendered to the feeling immediately. While Trin was not in favor of being intimate in her parents’ house, she had no problem with doing a little making out.

-8-8-8-8-

“Shin, if you keep eating cookies, you’re going to be sick!” Anne scolded the young man, who was stuffing tree-shaped cookies in his mouth three at a time. This made him incapable of responding to her admonishment.

“He bet us he could eat a dozen in a minute,” Tim explained, keeping an eye on Shin to make sure he did not cheat, which Shin was known to do whenever it suited him.

“Why are you two encouraging him? You know you’re not supposed to encourage Shin to do anything that could potentially end in a hospital run,” James reminded the boys, giving them a stern look. The boys daring Shin had resulted in trips to the hospital more times than any of them liked.

“It’s Christmas. We’re trying to be nice,” Jim argued, grinning widely to show they were, in fact, trying to encourage Shin to hurt himself.

“Looks more like naughty from this end,” Anne commented, watching as Shin’s face started to turn a bright red. It definitely would not be a merry Christmas for her if she needed to the Heimlich on Shin… again. “No more cookies,” she ordered as she slid a glass of milk in front of the crazy man.

Knowing that was a serious command, Shin nodded before gulping down the whole glass of milk without stopping for a breath. Anne and James shook their heads at him, both wondering if he was ever going to change. There was one thing about marching to the beat of a different drummer, but it was another to be completely immature and self-destructive, as if he had nothing to lose in life.

For a few seconds, they took the time to appreciate that their daughters were at least maturing. They were sure it would take the twins a little longer to mature, but they had faith eventually the boys would even out. But, they could only wonder when Shin was going to do that. They hoped it would happen soon. After all, he was family to them, too, and they cared about him as much as they did their own children.

“Shin, I think it’d be a wise decision to at least stay alive until your parents arrive. They’re going to want to see you, undoubtedly,” James quipped dryly. Sometimes, he wondered if Shin believed that.

“I can’t wait to see them, too. I see Mommy enough, but my poppa is almost always MIA,” Shin said with a bit of a pout. While he was a momma’s boy through and through, he loved his father just as much. Sometimes, it hurt to not see his father as often as he liked to. Well, at least it was better than when he was younger. He used to throw tantrums to see his father, but he was over that now.

“Your poppa works hard, Shin. Try to remain alive, so you can see him again. He was overjoyed to know he’d be able to be here for Christmas to see everyone,” Anne informed the young man, eyes and tone understanding just how Shin was when it came to his father.

Shin nodded with vigor, almost like a small child, and his eyes drifted to the floor, almost as if he knew the Possibles were trying to avoid reprimanding him for his behavior. He was used to it from them, but for some reason it bothered him now. It was not so much that they were trying to scold him, but that he was already doing something to be reproached about and he had only been in the house for a few minutes. It was like he could not help himself, he thought. _That’s scary_.

He thought, if he could not help himself, then that explained why he had screwed things up over the summer. But, it also meant he might never be able to make things right between him and Booker. The idea made him frown. He did not want to lose Booker by having no impulse control. Shaking that away, he tried to dismiss the thought, figuring it would be better to contemplate at home when he was not supposed to be enjoying time with his family and extended family.

“Hey, Jimmy, Timmy, wanna go play some video games?” Shin proposed with a bright smile. “I bought some,” he added. It was something to do to avoid thinking about the semi-epiphany he just had. Christmas was not supposed to be a time for deep thinking and self-discovery as far as he was concerned because he would start brooding. There was nothing “merry Christmas” about brooding.

The twins agreed with that and the three males disappeared into the living room. Anne and James figured that was for the best. It was hard for Shin to kill himself playing games, unless of course it was one of those games that needed to be controlled with the body. James decided to go take a peek in the living room and see what they were working with. Anne was about to continue on dinner preparations, having made most of the big things the night before, but the doorbell rang.

Anne got the door since James was making sure the video game play did not get out of control. Checking on who it was from the peephole, Anne’s face scrunched up in confusion. Two people she did not know stood on the porch, but one of them looked rather familiar. She opened the door because of that. Cold air rushed in, but she barely felt it thanks to the warmth surrounding her.

“Hello, may I help you?” Anne greeted the pair.

“Hi, we’re looking for the Possible residence,” the pale woman standing before Anne asked. She was the one who appeared very familiar to the doctor. She looked like an older version of Shego without the green tint to her skin.

“You’re in the right place,” the redhead stated with a smile.

“Oh, good. We’re Shego’s parents. She called to let us know we were invited to an important event in her life.” The statement was accompanied by a good-natured smile. A short, wild-haired man by her side nodded in agreement.

Anne stared at the man for a long moment. He was not dressed for the brisk winter weather. While the pale woman had on a coat with every button fastened, a scarf, and a hat, he was in a black Henley shirt and tan cargo pants, nothing more. It was like he did not know it was cold. Anne dismissed it since Shego often dressed like she did not know it was cold as well.

“Oh, yes. We’re having a family Christmas celebration. It’s wonderful to meet you. I’m Kim’s mother, Anne Possible,” the neurosurgeon introduced herself, putting her hand out. 

“Isabel Go,” the pale woman replied, shaking Anne’s hand with her own gloved hand.

“Shego looks just like you,” Anne commented.

“That’s all well and good. No one would be happy if she looked like him,” Isabel remarked, motioning to the man beside her.

“Kane Go, Shego’s proud daddy and Isabel’s punching bag. Although, I could’ve sworn the ring made me her husband,” he introduced himself with a happy grin, shaking Anne’s hand. Shego bore no resemblance to the man, Anne noted. He had messy auburn hair and strange purple eyes. He was also quite short, standing several inches shorter than Isabel and Anne.

“Might I say Kim looks just like you,” Isabel added as she studied the doctor. Anne smiled, taking it as a compliment, as it was meant to be.

“Well, please come in. Dinner isn’t for a few hours, but we can all get to know each other over some snacks and drinks,” the redhead declared, ushering them in with a wave of her hand. They came in and she shut the door.

The couple eyed the simple foyer area. “You have a lovely home. It looks beautiful and it has a wonderfully cozy feel to it,” Isabel stated.

“Bella won’t tell you, but she loves it when a home feels like a home,” Kane said, earning a glare from his spouse. She shrugged out of her coat, put her hat and scarf in a sleeve, and threw it over his head. He only laughed. 

“I hope it does feel like home for you,” Anne informed them as she freed Kane from the long coat and went to hang it in the nearby closet. She decided to chalk Isabel’s behavior toward Kane as playful teasing, as he did not seem to mind.

“We sincerely hope to get along very well for you. We understand how much our daughters mean to each other. We’re happy our little Shona was able to meet your daughter,” Isabel explained.

“Shona?” Anne echoed with a little wrinkle between her eyebrows. Shego never revealed what her real name was. Honestly, they all thought her real name was Shego since she went by that all the time, even when she was not being a criminal.

“Shona always speaks highly of Kim and we see her on the news enough to know she’s a great girl,” Kane proclaimed. “Shego married up. I taught her that.” He held up two thumbs. Isabel sneered at him, but did not say anything.

“We did our best to raise her right. Kim and Shego are upstairs right now, unpacking. While I go and get them, you can introduce yourselves to my husband, sons, and nephew,” Anne said, pointing them in the direction of the living room.

Isabel and Kane walked off while Anne trotted upstairs to Kim’s room. She knocked on the wall on the entrance and waited for a reply before making her way up to the attic room. Kim and Shego stood by the doorway, as if waiting for her. The doctor smiled to herself when she saw that nothing seemed amiss in the room.

“There are more guests downstairs,” Anne said vaguely, thinking Shego’s parents might want their visit to be a surprise since Shego did not seem to know they were coming.

“More guests? Uncle Shin and Aunt Tashawna are here already?” Kim asked, smiling at the thought of seeing them again. She had seen them at Thanksgiving, but it seemed like so much longer since she did not get a chance to really talk to them in between visits.

“Come down and see,” the older redhead replied. 

Kim shrugged and she walked down with Shego following her. Anne decided to go check on Trin and Tatsu since she was up there. Besides, there was always the chance Trin wanted to help her cook, so she would let the blond know she was about to get started. When she got to the door, she noted how quiet it was. She wondered if they had fallen asleep. Gently, she knocked on the door.

“Yes?” Trin called.

“Hey, sunshine, I’m going to start dinner and wondered if you wanted to help out,” Anne replied.

“I would love to. I’ll be down in a moment.”

“All right. Oh, and we have other guests. Shego’s parents decided to show up,” Ann said, knowing Trin would love to meet them.

“We’ll be right down!” Trin declared in a somewhat excited tone. Well, excited for her, anyway.

-8-8-8-8-

Shego stopped at the living room as if she ran into an invisible barrier. Emerald eyes were wide with disbelief and Shego’s mouth hung open as if she were surprised. Kim wondered why and turned her attention to inside of the room, looking where Shego’s gaze fell. She did not see her aunt and uncle as she expected, but rather two strangers, and one of them bore a striking resemblance to Shego.

“Mommy, Daddy, what are you doing here?” Shego asked in shock. Kim blinked. She had not expected those to be the titles Shego would use for her parents.

“What do you mean, what are we doing here? We came to see you and meet your girlfriend, obviously, Shona!” Kane declared with a very large and proud grin. He walked over to Shego and grabbed her into a hug. “I’ve missed my little Sheshona.” He rocked her from side to side a couple of times

“I’m taller than you, Daddy,” Shego pointed out, failing to hide a smile. She hugged him back, but she made it seem like a chore.

“Fine, I’ve missed my very big Shona,” Kane corrected himself, pulling away from the former thief and laughing. “And you know it doesn’t take much to be taller than me.”

“Shona?” Shin echoed with an arched eyebrow. Glancing at Kim, he noticed she did not react to the nickname, so she probably knew about it.

“You said you were on opposite ends of the globe,” Shego pointed out as Trin and Tatsu came down the stairs.

“You know, there are these things called airplanes. They take you all around the world, firefly,” Isabel replied with a smart-ass smirk that almost everyone else was used to seeing on Shego rather than seeing it used against her.

“Firefly?” Trin parroted with an amused spark in her eyes.

“That’s cute. We call Trin ‘sunshine’ and Kim is ‘Kimmie-cub,’” James announced, almost as if he were evening things between the women. There were triple groans throughout the room.

“Sunshine?” Shego asked, giving the blond the same smug look that had just been directed at her seconds ago.

“Can it, firefly,” Trin growled and then she turned her attention to the living room to get a look Shego’s parents. She was not sure what to expect, but she was truly surprised when she saw them. “You’re Isabel Go,” the blond said, pointing at Isabel. How had she not realized Shego was related to Isabel Go? They were almost identical.

“Indeed I am. It’s always nice to get out of introducing myself,” Isabel quipped with a smile. She reached out and shook hands with the blond Possible.

“I’m Trin Possible, Kim’s older sister and more than likely the person who will kill your daughter,” Trin introduced herself.

She earned a laugh from Isabel. “Someone’s going to have to do it sooner or later,” she stated. “For a long time, I assumed it would be me, but you’re welcome to it if you’re there first.”

“Mommy, don’t encourage her or I’ll have to destroy both of you,” Shego said and before she could go on, Shin decided at that moment to chime in.

“Oh, snap! She totally is Isabel Go!” Shin declared, climbing to his feet. He had not been paying attention to Shego’s parents when introduced themselves to James. Now, having a reason to join in aside from making fun of Shego’s pet name, his attention was hooked. He made his way over to them.

“And you’re Shinichi Toriyama, son of Tashawna and Shinichiro Toriyama,” Isabel realized as he stood before her.

“How do you know that? You know my mommy and my poppa?” he asked, arching an eyebrow. It was not often he ran into people who knew automatically who he was the son of.

“I know of your mother through your father, but I’m acquainted with your father due to his association with my cousin Frederick and of course his annoying school,” Isabel explained dryly. Her tone reminded him a little of Trin, which he thought was funny.

“Is it a good acquaintance or not? He’s going to be here in a few hours, after all,” Shin pointed out.

“It’s fine. As far as I know they’ve never had to work against each other and even if they did, I wouldn’t hold work against your father. He shouldn’t have a problem with me and I don’t have a problem with him. You look like a lot like him,” she noted.

“He acts a lot like him, too,” James commented.

“Well, that is tragic,” Isabel remarked.

“How do you two know my mother, anyway?” Shego asked, pointing at the “evil twins.”

“School,” Shin answered, as if that made any sense. In fact, it got him a number of bewildered stares.

“Are you sure Uncle Shin isn’t going to have problem with you? Most of those ninjas do, after all,” Trin said, speaking to Isabel.

“I imagine he wouldn’t have a problem with that since his son used to cheer for me whenever I was there,” Isabel answered.

Shin nodded. “I totally was rooting for you every time. It’s cool that you know that. The shrew wanted you to win, too.” He pointed to Trin. 

Isabel studied Trin for a long moment. “I find it a bit odd you know about that, though. They usually frown against foreigners being at the school and never let them attend.”

“Usually is a good word for it,” Shin said with a chuckle while Trin shrugged. 

Isabel nodded. “I have to say, looking at you, you’ve confirmed that one time I was there I wasn’t going out of my mind as I had previously assumed.”

“What do you mean?” Trin inquired.

“One time while I was there, I thought I noticed a blond head in the corner, lurking in the shadows. And I know the ninjas don’t walk around with dyed hair when they’re attending the school as it’s considered inappropriate. I suspect it was you,” Isabel answered.

“I’m sure it was. I was there plenty of times when you showed up and handled many of the ‘star pupils.’ I often wondered why Master Sensei allowed you into the school since I’m aware you’re not Japanese yourself,” Trin confessed.

Isabel smirked. “Who says he _allowed_ me anywhere?” 

Shin laughed and clapped his hands loudly. “That makes things even sweeter! I wish I could’ve seen his chubby face every time you whipped those uppity bastards! Shego, do you know your mother can kick serious ass?” he proclaimed with a giant grin.

A bored expression settled onto Shego’s face. “No, I wasn’t aware. In fact, I only just met her today myself,” she remarked in a deadpan tone. 

“You don’t have to get snippy about it, firefly,” he replied with a smart-aleck grin, eyes dancing with mischievous delight.

“Don’t make me burn your eyebrows off again,” she warned him, pointing a threatening finger at him. 

A hand quickly went up to protect and cover his forehead as Shin squeaked. “No, it took them forever to grow back before! I looked so stupid penciling them on and even Booker was laughing at me!” he whined. “Even Kimmie laughed at me!”

“To be fair, you kinda deserved it,” Kim said.

Kane smiled. “Seems like you’re making a lot of good friends, Shona,” he stated, patting his daughter on the shoulder. 

“These are not my friends, Daddy,” Shego grumbled, folding her arms across her chest. The smile on Kane’s face said he did not believe her and she turned her nose up, as if that would make things even more believable.

Everyone got a bit of a laugh out of Shego’s attitude, keeping the mood rather light. Eventually, there was a round of introduction made, so that everyone knew each other. The conversation continued on smoothly as they all settled in the living room. Snacks and drinks were served and it was a surprisingly painless affair. 

-8-8-8-8-

Next time: the end.


	3. Peace

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I don’t own these characters; Disney does. Oh, wait, there’s a cornucopia of OCs in this one. I do own the following: Trin, Shin, Tatsu, Isabel, Kane, Shinichiro, and Tashawna.

3: Peace

“So, how’re things going between you and Tatsu now, sunshine?” Anne inquired, currently cutting up items to make the salad. She and Trin were in the kitchen, working on meal things while everyone else was in the living room, having a good time from what they could tell.

“Everything’s better, but there are still some problems. We talk a lot more now, so I know one of the problems is that she’s still nervous about the family thing,” Trin replied. She was concentrating on making chicken dumplings. She figured it would be good for Christmas dinner since she knew her mother had already cooked most of the food for tonight.

“Well, I’m sure that’ll come with time. It was difficult getting her to come out here?” the redhead guessed.

“It was a little difficult. It was a bit harder than with Thanksgiving. I think she views Christmas a bigger deal because of the exchange of gifts. She was very nervous about buying things for you, Dad, and the boys.”

A small smile worked its way onto Trin’s face as she recalled taking Tatsu shopping a couple of times. Every time Tatsu picked an item, she asked, “do you think your mom/dad/brothers will like this?” only about dozen times. Trin knew for a fact that everything Tatsu picked out be used and appreciated, but the mechanic was not put at ease. Tatsu seemed to think presents made the holiday and Trin knew that was because most of Tatsu’s Christmas experience came from watching television.

Anne’s forehead wrinkled a bit. “She shouldn’t worry about that.”

“I’ve told her that. She just needs to experience it a bit and I’m sure she’ll adjust to things,” Trin stated.

Anne nodded. “Before or after she stops tensing every time someone hugs her?”

“I’m working with her on that, too. Mom, I don’t think it’s my place to tell you what kind of home Tatsu spent much of her life in, but needless to say, there wasn’t a lot of hugging and affection to go around,” the blond explained as best she could.

Red hair swayed as the doctor shook her head. “That’s a shame. Well, your father and I will continue to work on making her feel like she’s a Possible because we know at this point, she is.”

Trin smiled. “Thanks so much, Mom.” 

A smile lit up Anne’s face and then there was a little sparkle in her eyes. “So, any chance of a special Christmas proposal?” the brain surgeon asked. She had been dropping hints to Tatsu whenever she saw her that it was about time to put a ring on Trin’s finger. She hated to think she was just going to have to come out and ask Tatsu when she was going to ask Trin to marry her.

“I doubt it, Mom. I’m not going to do it because I don’t want to pressure Tatsu and Tatsu seems to still be trying to settle into living in a new city with a new job… which occurs about every two to three weeks,” the blond answered.

“She’s still having trouble with employment?” Anne asked with a sigh. Talking with both of her daughters often, she was somewhat up-to-date in their lives and knew Tatsu was not doing well in the area of employment after closing her garage in Middleton and moving in with Trin. As Trin told it, Tatsu was not used to working with a boss or with other people. She also had a bad habit of making unrequested additions to the few cars she was allowed to work on.

“Unfortunately, yes. It’s starting to get discouraging to her. She thinks she doesn’t know how to handle people, which isn’t true. She just happens to pick very bad locations to work in with people who don’t seem to think she can do the job. I’m doing my best to be supportive, but there’s only so many times one can be fired or have to walk away from a job before it starts to deflate your ego a bit.” A sigh escaped the grad student and she shook her head a little.

“I’m surprised there’s no favors you or your sister can call on to help.”

Gold locks moved from side to side as Trin shook her head again. “Tatsu wants to do it on her own. I think it goes beyond her pride. Sometimes, Tatsu looks at us like a traditional couple.”

“And, at those times, she feels like she’s the man,” the neurosurgeon guessed. 

“Yes, in a way.” Trin nodded. “Which means she feels like she has to take care of me. I know it doesn’t make a lot of sense, but so much of how Tatsu thinks is shaped by what she sees in ‘normal’ society. Slowly, she’s changing, but she still has a long way to go. I don’t mind her looking at things that way since she’s not so traditional that she’ll be walking through the door and demanding supper or something crazy like that. It’ll make her happy to be able to get a job and take care of me, which is good enough for me. So, I suppose there won’t be any proposals until she has steady work and she can start paying for things again,” she explained as best she could. 

“I think that’s a reasonable thing. Can I expect grandchildren in the next few years then?” Anne inquired with a teasing, but sly grin. 

“MOM!” The blush burned her face so badly that she thought her face might ignite.

“Oh, just one or two will do,” Anne added, still smiling. She meant it. 

“MOM!”

The doorbell saved Trin from further embarrassment because Anne went to answer the door while James kept the guests in the living room entertained. A bright smile over took her face as she swung the door open and greeted two of her oldest friends.

“You made it earlier than you said you would!” Anne proclaimed as she stood face-to-face with the Toriyamas. They were both bundled up to protect against the cold.

“We miss our baby and our not-so-little nieces and nephews!” Tashawna replied as she grabbed Anne into a tight hug. The pair embraced as if it had been a hundred years since they last saw each other.

“They’re going to be so happy to see you. Hey, I’m happy to see you,” Anne declared, which was evident in how tightly she held her friend.

“I know what you mean,” Tashawna stated, a bright smile spread across her caramel face. 

Once they were done hugging, Tashawna rushed into the warm house leaving Shinichiro behind to greet Anne on his own. He smiled at her and grabbed her into tight hug with his thick arms, which she returned with a groan. Smiling, he let her go and she scolded him for playing around so much. He stepped in and the door was shut behind him. He hung his things up in the closet and then found his way to the living room, noticing it was much more crowded than usual. 

“There better be enough food for everybody,” Shinichiro remarked. “But, if push comes to shove Shin, you’re eating Trin,” he added with a delighted grin.

“Gross, poppa! I know where she’s been, after all!” Shin joked, making a twisted face in the direction of Tatsu. 

“Then you know not to go near her,” Tatsu replied, shaking her fist at him.

Shinichiro laughed. “Tatsu, it’s always a delight to have you around to crack this boy’s skull,” he commented, slapping his son on the back rather roughly. 

Shin waved his arms around like a wild duck. “Mommy, you see this assault taking place?” he yowled.

“Oh, please. You better not be that soft,” Shinichiro said and gave Shin one last, good, hard whack on his shoulder. Shin yelped and jumped away. 

After tapping his son on the back, Shinichiro went and shook hands with Tatsu. He was the only one who respected the fact that she was not comfortable with hugging. Everyone else was just intent on getting her used to the open affection exchanged by the family. He just wanted to make sure he did not do anything that frightened her off, knowing Trin had life plans for Tatsu. _Now, if only my crazy boy could make life plans with someone_. He would even take week plans at this point.

Shinichiro then turned his attention to the surprise guests. “Imagine this, Isabel Go, attending the same family holiday gathering as me. The planets must be aligned in some special formation,” he said with a mischievous a sparkle in his eyes. The stern hand of his wife on his shoulder told him that his mischief better not go any further than some fun banter or he was going to be in a lot of trouble.

“What are the odds my daughter would somehow connect herself to your family,” Isabel replied, sounding rather bored. Kane laughed a little at the exchange. 

“I didn’t think anything of that. I just think it’s a bit weird for you to show up, but then again, your family is just so… family-orientated. It’s a little creepy,” he taunted her, grinning widely as he spoke. 

Isabel looked bored and rubbed her knuckles on her chest before examining her fingernails. “Yes, we can’t all be adopted by ninja schools and forced into doing their bidding by some of the worse mind control known to mankind,” she countered drolly.

“Isn’t that what family is?” Shin quipped, earning a smile from Isabel and outright laugh from his father. The clever response put a temporary end to the teasing.

“Have you met my husband, Kane Go?” Isabel asked Shinichiro, motioning to the auburn-haired man next to her, who was having a very animated conversation with Kim. Four hands flew all over the place as they grinned at each other. Shego took that as a bad sign. Her father liked her girlfriend. He would pester them both until he had to leave now.

“I’ve heard a lot about him. So many people are still wondering how you managed to find someone to stay married to you. Supposedly, he’s insane,” Shinichiro said.

“He’s something.” Isabel gave her husband a glance. 

“What about you? Have you met my wife, Tashawna Toriyama?” Shinichiro asked, putting his arm around his slender, mocha-skinned wife.

“I have not had the pleasure,” Isabel replied, leaning forward to shake Tashawna’s hand. “You must be a very strong woman to be able to stomach Shinichiro and the fact that he cloned himself with your son,” she teased.

“You have no idea,” Tashawna sighed, but smiled.

“I might. Besides my little firefly over there, I have four sons and they all have some aspects of their father in them,” Isabel stated, grabbing onto her husband’s hand. He smiled proudly, but did not turn his attention away from Kim. 

“Will you stop calling me that!” Shego huffed, throwing her hands up in frustration at her mother’s repeated use that silly pet name for her.

“Evening the odds,” Kim chimed in. “He’s Aunt Tashawna’s ‘little man.’” She motioned to Shin. 

“Dude!” Shin put his hand to his chest as if she wounded him. “Since when do you throw me under the bus like that? Remember back when we were partners in crime? Stealing Christmas cookies together? Is nothing sacred around here anymore?” He pretended to sob.

“I can see why you stopped at one,” Shego said to Tashawna.

“Five is a handful,” Isabel said.

“Oh, I know. I’ve babysat them all. They all work each other up, don’t they?” Tashawna motioned to her son, but also the Possible children. Isabel nodded.

Tashawna and Shinichiro were able to join in with the activity in the living room with no problem, catching up on everyone’s lives. Shego looked particularly grumpy, but when Kim smiled at her, she could not fight off a smile back. Once she looked a bit more appropriate for the holiday, Kim turned her attention back to Kane, who was telling just about every funny childhood ‘Shona story that he could think of. Shego had not made any moves to stop him. James had already told her every funny and crazy story from Kim’s childhood.

Soon the doorbell rang again and Kim was going to get it, but her father rushed to the door before her, specifically telling her to stay put. She thought it was strange, but she ignored it. It was possible he just wanted her to take it easy while she was home. The idea was not unheard of, after all.

James grinned as he got to the door. Swinging it open, knowing who was already there, he engulfed the visitor in a hug. She groaned as he held her tightly to his chest. She never would have guessed he was so strong. Her coat offered very little padding from his power.

“Uncle James… you’re crushing me…” Joss breathed out the complaint.

“Oh, I can’t believe you actually came!” James proclaimed and then in a much lower voice, he continued on. “Your cousins are going to be so happy to see you.”

“I hope so,” Joss replied as he released her. She adjusted the strap of her bag on her shoulder.

James ushered his niece in quickly and shut the door behind her. For a moment, he paused and took a good look at her. She had gotten taller since he had last laid eyes on her, but he doubted she would look much different to anyone else since his daughters and wife had seen her over the summer. There was a delighted glint in her eyes that brought a smile to his face. It was easy to tell she was eager to be there and he knew why. He was about to lead her to the living room, but thought the better of it. He stopped her from going deeper in the house.

“Wait here,” he implored her and rushed off before she could answer. He marched into the living room, going right to Kim. “Excuse me, Kane, please, let me borrow Kim for a moment. I need to give her and her sister an early Christmas gift,” he explained.

“Oh, by all means. I’ll just monopolize another lovely lady around here,” Kane remarked with a good-natured grin. He turned his attention to anyone in the room whose ear he could talk off.

James did not think anything of the remark, mostly because he was so excited. He took Kim by the hand and pulled her into the kitchen to get Trin. The blond did not get a chance to inquire what was going on before James’ grabbed her hand and pulled her out of the kitchen. Trin looked at Kim, wanting an explanation. All Kim offered was a perplexed expression and a shrug. They found out why their father was so excited when they got to the small foyer of the house.

“Joss!” Kim grinned and rushed their younger cousin, grabbing her into a hug. They had not seen Joss since August when she had lived with them. While it had been a rough start, by the time Joss left, they were all very close. So much so that Joss called them every couple of days, wanting advice, help with her homework, or to just talk. Plus, there were the constant instant messages or texts or other forms of communication. She had done a complete 180 in her feelings for Trin and her feelings for Kim seemed to have returned to what they were before finding out Kim was a lesbian.

“I’m surprised your mother let you loose in this state, let alone come to our house and on Christmas no less,” Trin commented dryly, calling attention to herself. Joss let go of Kim in order to embrace the blond.

Trin could not help smiling, remembering not too long ago, Joss would not come within ten feet of her, let alone think to hug her. Now, Joss embraced her without thought, as if they had been close forever. Trin hugged her back.

“My mom was very against this, but my dad said it was all right. He bought the ticket and everything. He even drove me to the airport and smiled when I left,” Joss explained, sounding both excited and tearful. “I felt almost guilty leaving him alone.” Her eyes drifted to the floor for a moment, but a gentle hand petting the back of her head got her to look at her blond cousin again.

“It’s all right. I’m sure Uncle Slim wanted to give you this gift and he’d want you to enjoy it,” Trin replied in a surprisingly compassionate voice. In the past, such a tone would have frightened Joss, but now that she knew Trin pretty well, she understood Trin actually had emotions and would express them toward people she cared about.

“I know, I know. Oh, my dad gave this to me to give to you and Kim,” Joss said, pulling back and shifting her backpack. She went into the front pocket and pulled out a card envelope.

“What is this?” Trin asked as she accepted it. She shifted to the side a little to share the thin package with Kim.

A shrug was her response. “I dunno. My dad sealed it before he gave it to me. All he said was make sure Shorty and Kimmie get this.” 

Trin opened it and the sisters read through it. A frown slid onto Trin’s pale face while Kim just lightheartedly chuckled. The frown did not seem very genuine, so Joss figured the message in the card was nice, but probably referred to Trin as “Shorty” throughout the whole thing.

“Well, Joss, it seems your father has commanded us to show you a good time, so I feel obligated to do so,” the blond declared, reaching out and putting a hand on Joss’ bicep. The younger woman smiled from the contact.

“Come on, Joss, we’re all in the living room. You get to meet Shego’s parents. They’re great! Her father’s really funny. He actually reminds me of Ron a little bit, but way crazier. Her mother’s a famous martial artist, too,” Kim informed her cousin, pulling the younger woman into the living room.

The rancher girl did not object, smiling all the way into the living room. There was a flurry of activity going on in there with everyone talking to someone… except for Tatsu, who was curled up in a corner. Joss was not surprised by that, but was not put off by it either. Tatsu was the first person she went to after she was introduced to those who did not know her. 

“You still be all grumpy?” Joss asked the mechanic as she sat down next to the older woman.

“Not grumpy. Just… watching,” Tatsu answered. She felt like she watched everyone and the way they acted, she would be able to figure out how she should act and then maybe, just maybe, she would join in.

“Just watching what? This ain’t TV, you know,” Joss pointed out with a grin as she bumped Tatsu with her shoulder.

Tatsu nodded and there was a ghost of a smile playing on her lips. “It helps, though,” she informed the younger woman. 

“Helps with what? You need to just jump on in. That’s what Kim would do,” Joss proclaimed.

“I know. I don’t do that, though. I need to… just be sure…” She wanted to get the social cues right. She did not want to come off as awkward or weird in some way.

“There’s nothing to be sure of, Tatsu. You should get up and talk to everybody. That’s what a family get-together is all about. What do you need to be sure of anyway?” the teen asked curiously.

Tatsu’s mouth curled up to the side and she scratched her cheek. “I just… wanna know how to talk to everybody,” she answered. Well, it was something like that, she figured. She was not _exactly_ certain what she needed to be sure of. It was like she was studying how to be normal with them, so she could mimic that and come across as normal.

“You wanna know how to talk to everybody? You just go right into the conversation. Watch,” Joss declared and she got up.

Joss dived right into the conversation that was taking place to show Tatsu how it was done. Turning around, Joss engaged Jim and Tim in some talking, going on about school and everything that teenagers talk about. She glanced over at Tatsu every now and then, trying to urge her into things. Tatsu remained where she was, watching Joss and everyone else that was in the room. It seemed easy enough, but Tatsu knew from experience holding a conversation was not that easy.

Kim had gone back to talking to Kane, but she noticed Shego looked miserable. Excusing herself again, Kim pulled Shego away from the group, going to talk on the stairs. Shego went willingly, even though she continued to look displeased for some reason.

“Sweetheart, what’s the problem?” Kim asked, leaning her body into the older woman’s to show sympathy and to coax an explanation out of her girlfriend. She was aware Shego enjoyed getting sympathy, even over the smallest things. From listening to Kane go on, Kim started to understand her girlfriend was spoiled. It was good to know, as it would help her when she wanted to treat Shego.

“Trin and Shin are going to hammer me when we get back home after this,” Shego admitted in a grumble, putting her arms around the petite redhead.

The answer caused Kim’s brow to wrinkle. “Is that all? Baby, parents are off-limits with those two. You could act completely pathetic when it comes to your parents and those two won’t say a word. Shin’s total a baby with his mother and you know how Trin is with our parents. You never make fun of her,” the hero pointed out.

Shego sighed and shook her head. “Yeah… something about making fun of her about your parents just seemed… I dunno, wrong and hurtful.” It was a line she would not cross with Trin. Shin gave her plenty of ammo to work with, so she never had to resort to talking about how he was with his mother.

A small smile graced Kim’s face. “I’m glad you’re somewhat considerate of my sister for once. Trust me, Shego, Trin and Shin won’t use anything you do with your parents or what they say against you… except calling you Sheshona. Shin looked like his eyes were going to fall out when he heard that was your given name,” she commented with a light laugh. 

Emerald eyes stared down at Kim imploring her to be right about things. “You sure? The last thing I want is for your sister to go around calling me ‘firefly’ or some other bullshit. I don’t mind Sheshona. I mean, I was called that name by damn near everyone who knew me for the first fifteen years of my life, so that’s nothing.”

“I promise, Shego. I’ll tell Trin about the firefly thing because she might not consider nicknames off-limits. But, if she does call you that, just call her sunshine like you know you will anyway and move on,” Kim stated.

“You make a point, Princess,” Shego replied with a wicked grin spreading across her face like the Grinch who stole Christmas.

“Only call her that if she calls you firefly. She only lets our parents call her that and they only do it when they’re trying to cheer her up now, so you can’t go crazy with it,” Kim warned, shaking her index finger at her trouble-making girlfriend.

“Okay, okay, okay!” Shego held up her hands in surrender before putting them back around Kim’s waist. They stood there for a moment. “You like my dad?” she asked curiously.

“He’s a great guy. He’s also either prone to exaggeration or you were a very crazy kid,” Kim answered with a playful smile.

“It could be a little of both,” Shego said with a laugh. It was both.

The pair retreated back to the living room, finding Trin and Anne sitting in with everyone now, too. Trin made herself comfortable against Tatsu, who was still sitting on the floor in the corner. Tashawna was close by, speaking with Trin and trying to get Tatsu to open up some.

“So, tell me about yourself. You treating my niece well?” Tashawna asked with a teasing smile.

“Trying…” Tatsu mumbled, glancing away. Tashawna was already aware Tatsu was a mumbler no matter whom she talked to or what the answer was. She wished Tatsu would stop being so bashful around them, though.

“That’s good. I’ve been trying to get Trin to tell me more about you being a mechanic and she was saying you’re completely self-taught,” Tashawna said and Tatsu nodded, not offering anything else as a response. Tashawna chuckled a bit and then looked at the blond. “She’s a bashful one still.”

“She’s still nervous around everybody,” Trin replied, caressing Tatsu’s arm with the hope it would get her to calm down and try to be engaging, if only a little.

Tashawna pouted a bit. “Tatsu, when are you going to just accept you’re stuck with this crazy family? We’re here to stay, so you might as well tell us a little more about yourself. I’d like to say I had one in-depth conversation with you once before I die and with my son in the house, that could be any day now.” She grinned to show the last bit was a joke. Tatsu’s face did not even twitch.

“Sorry…” Tatsu scratched her head. “I’m not good at small talk.”

“You don’t have to consider it small talk. I’m trying to get to know you, not asking about the weather. All you have to do is answer the questions I ask if you feel comfortable with it. It helps if you say more than one word. You might even be able to ask me some if you’re brave enough. Remember, I know a lot of embarrassing stories about Trin,” Tashawna commented with a sly grin.

“I don’t like the sound of that,” Trin muttered, glancing away.

For a moment, tropical blue eyes drifted to Kim, noting the animated discussion she and Kane were still having. Isabel seemed to be in on it, but Kane and Kim were doing most of the moving and talking. Trin wondered if she should move over there and just find out what they were talking about, if only to ignore her aunt telling Tatsu all of her crazy childhood tales. She wanted to defend herself, as her childhood would have been normal if people left her alone and if Shin did not exist, but she stayed silent because Tatsu was engaged with her aunt. As she shifted her attention, she found out unsurprisingly that Shego’s childhood was far from normal as well.

“So, eventually we found what happened was that Shona had somehow crawled into the dyer and was so small that she was buried underneath all of the clothes,” Kane finished his explanation, his hands going along with his words.

“What he fails to tell you is that _he_ was supposed to be keeping an eye on her,” Isabel added drolly, cutting her husband a mock glare.

Kane gasped and put his hands out. “I had the baby!”

“Yes, and our two toddlers almost died, again,” Isabel replied.

“But, was the baby okay?” Kane pointed out with a grin. “You act like Shona didn’t almost die with you every now and then. One of us took her and Hadrian to see some stunts that included explosions and clothes catching fire. I can say with confidence it wasn’t me.”

Isabel sighed and put her hand to her forehead. “I still don’t know how they managed to get in that car. I had them right in front of me.”

“Seems like Shego had plenty of adventures before she could barely walk,” Kim commented with a smile.

“I get the feeling you were the same way,” Isabel said. Kim and Shego were a little too similar for Kim to have been a normal child.

“She was,” James groaned and Anne just covered her face with her hand, shaking her head in a weary manner. Kim’s mouth dropped open, incredulous her parents would say such a thing about _her_.

“Oh, don’t look like that. We could take our eyes off of you for one second and next thing you, you’re diving off the roof,” Anne said.

“We had to remove our pool from the backyard thanks to her and that one,” James added in, pointing at Shin, so they knew who “that one” was. Shin, knowing he was being talked about, smiled big and proud, even though he doubted he was being complimented.

“Oh, she had help in the matter,” Kane commented, throwing Shin a “thumbs’ up” and getting plenty of disapproving head shakes at that move. The disapproval did not seem to faze Kane at all. “Sheshona had her big brother,” he added with a happy smile.

“We should start touring the country and just tell families to never have more than two children and make sure their ages are spaced far, far apart,” Isabel joked.

“Please, Bella, you baby our kids so much, you know you wouldn’t know what to do with yourself if we only had two children,” Kane teased, patting her thigh.

Isabel smiled softly. “He’s right,” she admitted.

“We wouldn’t trade our four for the world either… no matter how many times they blow the garage up,” Anne quipped and then she cast her husband a glance. “With their father’s help.”

“Oh, you’re one of those type of fathers, too? Way to get in trouble,” Kane grinned, moving to hit James on the back. The rocket scientist could only smile, even though he did try to appear contrite for just a second, putting his head down and scrunching his shoulders. But, he smiled when he looked up.

The crew continued to enjoy each other’s company. Eventually, Shin, the twins, Kane, and Tatsu went back to playing video games. Tatsu played because she knew Trin wanted her to interact with everyone and she knew she had to and video game play was the easy way. _This is her family_, Tatsu told herself. She needed to get comfortable with everyone.

“We need to play soccer!” Jim declared loudly, for no reason at all.

To the dismay of everyone else, someone broke out the motion control and all hell broke loose with all players diving all over the living room. Whoever was not playing the game eased out of the room to avoid serious injury. The doctors Possible hoped the living room would survive.

Kim, Trin, Shego, and Joss vanished upstairs while the parents all made themselves comfortable in the kitchen. Anne started heating up the food, so that they would be able to eat dinner at a reasonable hour. They all came back together when the food was ready to be served.

It was clear they would not all be able to fit at the table, so they decided on a picnic-like setting in the living room. The food and drinks were set out on the dining room table and everyone made their plates (or had a mate make it for them). Once everyone was loaded up on what they wanted, they settled into spaces and merry discourse continued on. As the Possible family experienced this, all they could do was smile, knowing their family had grown again. Isabel and Kane knew this, too, and it only pleased them.

“Wow, Anne, you cook a hell of a meal,” Kane commented, patting his belly. He could not believe he had eaten four servings, but damn it, it was so good! Isabel and Shego could believe he had eaten four servings, as he was greedy and his metabolism burned faster than most.

“I second that!” Shinichiro said and then turned his attention to his wife. “You think you could roll me home?”

“I’ll leave you here to sleep on the floor,” Tashawna informed him, leaning against him.

“To hell with it,” he decided and fell out. Tashawna yelped as she tumbled over with him.

“I’m with Poppa on this one,” Shin said, curling up into a little ball on the floor. The twins dived on him, earning loud, dramatic groans from him.

Shego punched Trin in the shoulder. “I see where you get it from.”

“She taught me everything I know, chemistry included,” Trin replied. 

“You said cooking is just tasty science,” Joss chimed with a grin.

“That’s what my mom always told me,” Trin said. 

“I hope you all have room for dessert. There are pies and some cake,” Anne informed everyone.

Even though most thought they did not have room, they had dessert anyway. After that, it was silently decided to start filing out for the day. Anne made sure the Toriyamas left with food, even though they were coming back tomorrow to open gifts and have more food. She also made sure Isabel and Kane left with food and let them know when gifts would be open if they wanted to be at the house for that. They were also told what time dinner would be tomorrow — Christmas Day.

With company gone and bellies full, everyone else decided to remain huddled in the living room. They watched the movie “A Christmas Story” twice before calling it a night. Anne showed Joss to a guest room and also distracted James, so he would not notice Shego going to Kim’s room or Tatsu going to Trin’s room. Sure, he seemed fine with the arrangement, but she was sure it would be best if he did not have to see the couples going into their rooms.

“Joss, are you all right?” Anne asked, checking in on her niece once more before retiring for the night herself.

“I’m fine. Thanks for everything,” Joss answered, crawling into bed now that she was in her pajamas.

“Thanks for coming, Joss. It means a lot to your cousins.”

A smile worked its way onto Joss’ face. “It means a lot to me, too, Aunt Anne. You were really right about Trin. She’s great and I’m happy she likes me. I really glad me and Kim are okay again, too. And I forgot how much I love hanging out with Jim and Tim.”

“We’re happy to have you, Joss. Come by anytime and I’m sure you know you can go see the girls whenever you want too.”

Joss nodded. “I know, but I just want to thank you because you’re the one that talked some sense into me.”

Anne smiled. “I like to think you already had the sense. I just needed to remind you of that.”

“I don’t know about that, but I’m glad you talked to me. Now, you need to go talk to Tatsu because that girl’s just about the most anti-social thing I ever did see,” Joss commented, laughing a bit.

“Trust me, I’m working on her. She’s a little more delicate than you, though, so I have to be careful with what I do. Your uncle and cousins are helping out. We’ll work her out of her shell soon enough,” Anne promised.

“That’s good. She makes Trin happy, so she needs to keep that up. I never would’ve guessed Shego was the better girlfriend between the two of them,” Joss remarked, earning a laugh from aunt.

“Not better, just a little more experienced. Don’t worry about them. Kim and Trin have their girlfriends under control. Now, get some sleep because there are gifts down there with your name on them, too, so we need you up and alert in the morning,” Anne said.

“‘Night.”

“Good night.” 

-8-8-8-8-8-

Christmas morning found the Possible family (plus two) and the Toriyama family gathered in the Possible living room. James passed out gifts for everyone to open. Joss was surprised to find there were some waiting for her, even though Anne told her last night there would be presents for her. Apparently, almost everyone present had mailed her a gift, only for her father to forward them to James’ house. Shego and Tatsu were surprised they had gifts waiting, too.

“Shego, your parents aren’t coming?” Anne asked from her space on the sofa.

“No, they probably won’t show up until dinner. We actually don’t celebrate Christmas,” Shego replied, glancing away and there seemed to be a small, sheepish blush staining her cheeks.

“No?” James said with a perplexed expression. Of course, he was aware there were plenty of people in the world that did not celebrate Christmas, but it was still always a shock to him when he met those people face to face. Christmas was such a great holiday for him that he wished he could share the joy with everyone.

“No, we don’t really follow any religion and growing up my parents sort of spoiled us, so they didn’t need a holiday to buy us a bunch of stuff,” she explained with a shrug. She and her brothers never got the big deal about Christmas. Their parents never needed an excuse to buy them gifts nor did they need an excuse to have a family get-together. All either of those took was a word from Isabel.

There were nods and that was accepted. “I didn’t celebrate Christmas either until I married this one,” Shinichiro commented, motioning to his wife. “I didn’t know until the moment I was freezing my ass off buying an overgrown pine tree that she was the one in charge!” he joked.

Tashawna smiled, a sly expression. “Trust me, he knew way before then,” she remarked. Shinichiro wisely laughed and then embraced his wife around the waist.

Shego nodded. “My mom is in charge, too, but my dad just kinda accepts it. We had a lot of days where we just hung out and had presents. So, Christmas never really registered for us.”

“That sounds nice,” Anne said.

Shego ducked her head. “I think it was.” She had a good childhood, even if her brothers were annoying. Kim grabbed her hand and squeezed it. Shego smiled at her. She would have to tell Kim about her childhood.

Everyone turned their attention to their gifts. Shin was the first to show off as he discovered his father gave him a new katana. He jumped up and immediately started moving with the sword, doing a series of katas.

“Shrew, you’re going down the next time you draw that butter knife you call a sword on me!” Shin declared with a happy grin. They were not surprised when he did a little dance on his tiptoes and squealed with delight.

“Oh really?” Trin inquired as she held up her own new blade with a wonderfully pink scabbard protecting the polished metal.

Shin’s face dropped instantly. “Poppa!” he whined, throwing his hands up in defeat. How the hell was he supposed to teach her a lesson if she got the same cool gift as he did!

“What? You know I’m not that creative at gift giving!” Shinichiro defended himself. Seriously, all of the fighters in their group got the same gift from him because he thought they would all like a new weapon. For the ladies, he got them all bracelets. For the twins and James, he got them models of space ships. He was not that good when it came to buying gifts and they all knew that. He prided himself on knowing what everyone was interested in, though.

“I think I’ll put this one display in the living room, Uncle Shinichiro. This one is really nice,” Kim said, running her thumb down the short sword that she received. It was not her first sword and she doubted it would be her last. She had them all in a case back at her apartment in the spare room.

“One day you’re going to have to put one of the blades to use, Kim. At least enter a tournament or something,” Shinichiro grumbled, folding his arms across his chest.

“You got good taste, old man,” Shego remarked, enjoying her own sword, which had a black blade. Shin’s father might not be creative when it came to variety, but it was clear he knew what he was doing in customizing the weapons.

“I hope you can use because you’re going to need it if you call me old man again,” Shinichiro playfully threatened her, shaking his fist in her direction.

Tatsu also got a sword, sheathed in white and gold, and she stared at it in silence. Jim and Tim noticed and decided to try to get her involved. Tim leaned over and hit her on the knee with his knuckles.

“Uncle Shinichiro ripped you off. You should’ve got a model with us. We could’ve all built them together,” Jim said.

Tatsu blinked. “Uh, no. I like the sword. I really do.” It was nice to know she was put on par with the other fighters in the house. She had never owned a weapon so beautiful. “This is way better than my knives.”

“Good to know!” Shinichiro clapped his hands together. “But, next time, I know to grab you whatever I grab the munchkins, too. But, I think the swords work for everyone here.”

“There will be swordplay today!” Shin proclaimed, pointing to his weapon at Trin. The blond did not seem to notice, moving onto another gift. Kim chuckled as Shin pouted from being ignored.

Eventually, Shin gave up and went back to opening gifts like everyone else. The scene was controlled chaos, but eventually someone would open a gift that paused everyone. The first one was Tatsu, who opened up a jewelry box. It was too big to be a ring, but everyone did wonder what was inside.

“Wow…” Tatsu muttered as she freed a charm bracelet from box. Immediately, she turned to her lover. “It’s so pretty…” The bracelet was platinum with jade charms on it, all shaped like different types of cars and motorcycles.

Trin smiled. “Not as pretty as you, baby,” she replied. Shin made gagging noises, as did her brothers, but she ignored them. “Want me to put it on for you?”

“Yes, please,” Tatsu answered, sounding almost childlike.

The blond continued smiling as she took the bracelet to put it on her beloved. She then turned her attention to Kim. “I guess all ladies do love jewelry,” the elder sister said.

“I hope you’re right,” Kim replied, eyes trailing over to a small gift that sat at the top of her lover’s pile of presents.

Shego eventually reached for and opened the curious gift that Kim had looked at for a moment. A small, black velvet box got everyone’s attention because that one looked like it could hold a ring. Eyes went to Kim, who was too busy staring at Shego to notice all eyes were on her. Shego noted the scrutiny and teased everyone by opening the box ever so slowly.

“Will you just open it already?” Shin screamed, waving his arms around. Shego stuck her tongue out at him, but popped the lid to the box.

Shego gasped and dropped all pretense when she saw what was in the box. “Oh, my god, Princess, this is beautiful,” she commented, pulling out a platinum necklace with an amethyst teardrop in the center of a platinum heart pendent.

There was almost a collective sigh of relief when everyone saw it was chain and not another, more significant piece of jewelry. There seemed to be a silent consensus Kim was not old enough to get married. She would have to finish school first and if she did not, Trin would blame Shego for it and they would have a problem.

Kim quickly connected the necklace and let it fall against Shego’s neck. They both smiled as Shego lightly fingered the new piece of jewelry she planned to never take off. Shego then found herself blushing as Kim’s placed a gentle kiss to her lips in front of everyone. She never expected even a simple display like that in front of Kim’s family! She was dumbstruck.

Nothing else was as dramatic as that moment. Once all of the gifts were open and the clean up was finished, James grabbed hold of Tatsu for a moment. He pulled her away from the group, going to speak privately by the stairs.

“Is there something wrong, sir?” Tatsu asked, eyes focused on the floor. 

“Several things actually. One, I’ve told you time and time again to call me James. Two, you always act like I’m going to bite your head off when I want to talk to you. Three, you still haven’t proposed to Trin!” His voice was low, but the excitement was there.

“Was I supposed to?” she inquired, dragging her eyes up to meet his face ever so slowly.

“We were hoping. A Christmas proposal would be very romantic and you’ve been with for four years now,” he pointed out.

“I know…” Blue eyes looked away and she bounced on her heels for a moment.

“I’m not trying to pressure you or anything, Tatsu. I want to help,” he assured her, placing a gentle hand on her shoulder. To both of their surprise, it helped calm her down. She was able to maintain eye contact after that.

“I know. I really do know. I appreciate you and… Anne… trying to gimme the push in the right direction. I just can’t right now…” she mumbled, shaking her head and looking a bit distressed.

“Why not?” he asked, concern laced in his tone and expression. “Anything I could assist you with?” he begged to know. He would do anything for her and he wished she would believe that. “I’m here for you, Tatsu, just as much as I am for Trin, Kim, and Shego. I’m here, so is there anything I could assist you with?”

“No. It’s just that right now I’m not in a good place to take care of Trin. I lose jobs so easily and I pretty much live off of her. I couldn’t ask her for a commitment while she’s pretty much supporting me in everything I do. Hell, if I bought her a ring now it’d be with her money,” Tatsu explained. Yes, she had savings from when she had her own garage, but she used that money to pay whatever bills she could afford at the apartment. She would not be able to buy her beloved a decent ring until she had regular money flowing in.

James nodded; that was probably the most he had ever heard Tatsu speak at once to someone other than Trin. It only added to the distress he could see creasing her forehead and putting worry lines under her eyes. He smiled a bit and patted her on the shoulder. 

“You’re a good person, Tatsu. I’m glad Trin found you,” he said and his words surprisingly got a smile out of the mechanic. He hoped that meant he got through to her and she would start opening herself up more, be it to him or the rest of the family. He just wanted her to know she belonged.

Eventually, dinnertime rolled around. Isabel and Kane returned to feast with the family. Ron also came by with Yori in tow. Yori practically fainted when she met Isabel, having been groomed to cheer the woman on when Isabel was defeating ninjas at Yori’s school. Thanks to Shin and Trin, Yori had never figured out she was supposed to dislike Isabel and ended up turning into quite the fan-girl.

“It is so amazing to meet you!” Yori bounced up in and down on her heels in front of Isabel.

Isabel smiled. “I’m glad you think so.”

“Please, I would love nothing more than to pick your brain about techniques and philosophy.” Yori clasped her hands in front of her.

“Not a problem. Let’s find a place to sit.” Isabel looked around for a space she could have a conversation with the kunoichi. Ron watched his girlfriend go and moved on to converse with his best friend.

Just as it had the night before, conversation flowed easily between everyone in the house. Ron fit right in, especially with Kane, while Yori needed a little coaxing with so many new faces around her. Amazingly enough, Joss was the one to try and bring Yori out of her shell. Joss basically just stood with Yori and talked her ear off until Yori started talking back. 

“I’m proud of you, Joss,” Kim said, whispering the words while standing next to Joss. Joss only smiled.

“Hey, everybody! We have a surprise outside for everyone!” Jim and Tim announced. 

James and Anne looked at each other, feeling a familiar dread. They then looked at Trin and Shin, who both shrugged, as if they had no clue what was going on. Sighing, the doctors walked outside with everyone else and wondered if they should just put 911 on hold to see what surprise their boys had cooked up. It would not be the first time.

“Okay, everyone, this surprise is brought to you by us obviously, but wouldn’t have been possible without the support — and money — of Shin, Trin, Tatsu, and Shego. Thank you guys for the best gifts!” the twins announced. Not a surprise in the least, the twins had a plethora of rockets lined up in the backyard. 

“You financed a potential fire?” Anne asked her oldest daughter, who glanced away and hoped that would be enough to stay out of trouble.

“When did they even have time to put this together?” Kim wondered aloud.

“They dragged Tatsu out here while you were busy kicking Shin’s ass in that snowboarding video game,” Shego answered. Shin had gotten several new video games for Christmas had to play them all that day, dragging any and everyone to play with him.

The rockets were lined up on a scaffold that looked shockingly sturdy for something the twin’s made, but then again, that was where Tatsu came in. Fuses were lit, the rockets blazed off into the air, and exploded in a delight of red and green lights. The sky was on fire with the words “Merry Christmas to all and peace on Earth!” The couples in the group all held each other as they stared at the enlightening marvel. 

“It’s beautiful…” Anne muttered as she squeezed James tight around his middle.

“You’re beautiful,” James whispered to her. “Actually, our family is beautiful and this holiday was beautiful.”

Everyone silently agreed with those sentiments. All eyes stayed on the fireworks before they began turning to each other, wishing everyone a Merry Christmas and praying to be able to have another family gathering with all of them there. Because, as James said, it was beautiful.

-8-8-8-8-

The end.

I hope you were all happy to with short glimpse back into the Pariah universe. Happy Holidays and goodwill toward all!

I hope you guys enjoyed the story. Thanks for reading as always. I’m going back to my padded cell. I hope you come back for the next story. Thanks again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you wanna see more of my fanfics, they're all at FFN under [StarvingLunatic](https://www.fanfiction.net/~starvinglunatic). If you wanna see some original stories, you can look at FP under [StarvingLunatic](https://www.fictionpress.com/u/576301/).
> 
> Come say hi to me on [Facebook](https://www.facebook.com/SL-Kassidy-482097488469386/).


End file.
